WASHINGTON D.C.
At the request of the central government in Iraq, a U.S. district court in Texas signed an order on Tuesday to seize a cargo of northern Iraqi oil off the coast of Texas.
The United Kalavrvta tanker, which is carrying a $100-million cargo of oil shipped from northern Iraq, arrived in Texas on Saturday and was given clearance on Sunday to discharge its cargo on U.S. soil for delivery.
The central government of Iraq laid claim to the cargo in a court filing on Monday saying that the crude oil had been sold without its permission.
The U.S. policy toward northern Iraqi oil sales hasn't changed, said Marie Harf, deputy spokesperson for the State Department Friday.
"Iraq's energy resources belong to all of the Iraqi people. The U.S. has made very clear that if there are cases involving legal disputes, the United States informs the parties of the dispute and recommends they make their own decisions," she said, adding that the U.S. government is not involved in commercial transactions.
Iraq's federal government and the Kurdish Regional Government have had long-standing disagreements over the agreement with Turkey to allow the sale of oil through Turkey to international markets, without going through Iraq's national oil regulator.
Northern Iraqi oil shipment from the Turkish southern Ceyhan Port to international markets on May 22 prompted Baghdad to appeal for international arbitration against Turkey.
Washington has expressed fears several times that independent oil sales from Northern Iraq's Kurdish region could contribute to the break-up of Iraq as the government in Baghdad struggles to contain Sunni Islamist insurgents that have captured vast swathes of the country.
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