Russia’s Rosneft takes control of main Kurdistan oil pipeline

Rosneft’s investment in the Kurdish oil pipeline is estimated as totaling about $1.8 billion. It was announced Thursday, four days after the Iraqi army and pro-Iranian militias captured the oil city of Kirkuk from Iraqi Kurdistan.

Earlier, Baghdad threatened to re-route most of the oil flows into an old oil pipeline, which has been out of operation for several years since Kurdistan built its own infrastructure from Kirkuk to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan.

Rosneft’s Chief Executive Officer Igor Sechin said that Kurdish authorities in Irbil and Baghdad have to resolve their differences by themselves.