Iraq claimed Turkey breached the 1973 Iraq-Turkey Pipeline Agreement by letting the Kurdistan Regional Government export crude through Ceyhan without Baghdad’s consent from 2014 to 2018. The 2023 ICC award netted Iraq about $1.47B plus interest after Turkey’s counterclaims. Turkey has not paid, has argued that interest calculations make it the net creditor, and challenged the award in Paris.
LATEST DEVELOPMENT · JUL 13, 2026
On 10 March 2026, the Paris Court of Appeal rejected Turkey’s partial annulment petition and ordered costs, a decision made public on 13 July 2026. Turkey still has not paid, the parties dispute accrued interest, and the pipeline agreement that expired on 27 July 2026 was extended by 12 months.
BACKGROUND
The dispute traces back to the 1973 Iraq-Turkey Pipeline Agreement, which gave Baghdad control over crude oil transported through the pipeline system running from Iraq’s northern oilfields to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. Starting in 2014, the Kurdistan Regional Government began shipping crude through a spur connected to the same pipeline network and exporting it via Ceyhan without the consent of Iraq’s federal government. Iraq argued this deprived Baghdad of control over roughly 1.5 million barrels a day of exports and filed an ICC request for arbitration against Turkey and BOTAS in May 2014, seeking billions in damages for the unauthorized exports that continued until the KRG’s exports were halted around 2018.
The ICC tribunal issued its final award on 13 February 2023. After netting Turkey’s counterclaims against Iraq’s claims, the tribunal left Iraq as the net creditor by roughly $1.47B including interest, a result both governments initially described in terms favorable to themselves given the complexity of the offsetting awards. Turkey has not paid the award. It has argued that additional interest accrual and separate claims make it, not Iraq, the ultimate net creditor, and it challenged the award before the Paris Court of Appeal, the competent court at the seat of the ICC arbitration.
Iraq moved in parallel to enforce the award in the United States, filing a petition to confirm and enforce the award in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in April 2023. That enforcement track has continued alongside the French annulment proceedings. In March 2026, the Paris Court of Appeal rejected Turkey’s bid to partially annul the award and ordered Turkey to pay costs, a ruling that became public in July 2026. Turkey still had not paid as of mid-2026, and the parties continued to dispute how much interest had accrued. Separately, the underlying 1973 pipeline agreement, due to expire on 27 July 2026, was extended by twelve months, keeping the broader Iraq-Turkey pipeline relationship alive even as the arbitration award remains unenforced.
TIMELINE
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JUL 27, 2026OTHER1973 Iraq-Turkey Pipeline Agreement expires and is extendedThe underlying pipeline agreement reached its expiry date and was extended by twelve months even as the arbitration award remained unpaid.
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JUL 13, 2026OTHERParis ruling against Turkey made publicNews of the Paris Court of Appeal’s March 2026 rejection of Turkey’s annulment petition became public.
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MAR 10, 2026JUDGMENTParis Court of Appeal rejects Turkey’s annulment bidThe Paris Court of Appeal dismissed Turkey’s petition to partially annul the ICC award and ordered Turkey to pay costs.
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APR 18, 2023OTHERTurkey considers enforcing its own counterclaim award portion in the USReports indicated Turkey was weighing whether to seek US enforcement of a roughly $527M portion of the award it says it is owed after netting calculations.
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APR 10, 2023ENFORCEMENTIraq petitions U.S. court to confirm and enforce the awardIraq filed a petition in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to confirm, recognize, and enforce the ICC award against Turkey.
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MAR 30, 2023OTHERIraq’s counsel announces arbitration victoryCleary Gottlieb publicized the ICC award as a major victory for Iraq in the long-running pipeline arbitration.
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FEB 13, 2023AWARDICC tribunal issues final awardThe ICC tribunal issued its final award, ultimately leaving Iraq as net creditor by approximately $1.47B after offsetting Turkey’s counterclaims.
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MAY 23, 2014FILINGIraq files ICC request for arbitration against Turkey and BOTASIraq’s Ministry of Oil and SOMO initiated ICC arbitration alleging Turkey and its state pipeline company BOTAS breached the 1973 Iraq-Turkey Pipeline Agreement by allowing unauthorized KRG oil exports through Ceyhan.