Kurdistan’s crude oil exports increased in the past couple of days, but oil flows are still well below the levels seen before the independence referendum in the semi-autonomous region that raised the tensions between the Kurds and the federal government in Baghdad. Kurdistan’s oil flows rose to 270,000 bpd on Wednesday and Thursday, compared to flows of between 200,000 bpd and 230,000 bpd in October, Kurdistan 24 news outlet reported on Thursday, quoting oil sources. Although crude oil flows from Kurdistan are on the rise, they are still nearly half the volumes compared to the levels before the Kurds voted on September 25 to break away from Iraq. Baghdad—which never recognized the legitimacy of the referendum—moved on in October to take control over the oil-rich area around Kirkuk. In the middle of last month, Iraqi government forces seized the oil fields around Kirkuk, which had been under Kurdish control […]