Iraq’s oil ministry has announced the resumption of oil exports from northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is piling pressure on Iraq to allow Kurdish oil exports to restart or face sanctions alongside Iran, eight sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Sunday said that it has struck an agreement with Baghdad to restart the Kurdistan Region's long-anticipated oil exports after the Iraqi government confirmed the completion of procedures.

Oil exports from the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region will resume next week, Iraq's oil minister said on Monday, resolving a near two-year dispute as ties between Baghdad and Erbil improve, potentially adding more supply to the oil market and weighing on prices.

Iraq has completed preparations to resume oil exports from the Kurdistan region through the Iraqi-Turkish pipeline via the port of Ceyhan, the Ministry of Oil announced on Saturday. The move aligns with the budget law and Iraq’s OPEC production quota.

Kurdistan is set to resume oil exports by the end of March following a two-year halt due to a dispute with the Iraqi government.

Iraqi authorities have rejected reports that they have allowed a resumption of oil exports from the Kurdistan region because of threats by the US government.

A speedy resumption of exports from Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region would help to offset a potential fall in Iranian oil exports, which Washington has pledged to cut to zero as part of Trump's "maximum pressure" campaign against Tehran.

The president of Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region signaled the likely resumption of oil exports next month, the latest optimism that an almost two-year shutdown that cost the nation some $19 billion in lost revenue could soon be over.