Iraq is set to bring long disrupted oil back online, adding fresh barrels to a market already weighed down by ample supplies across the globe. A little over a year ago, Kurdistan held a referendum on independence from Iraq, which passed with overwhelming support. The vote was non-binding, but was meant to lay down a marker and increase leverage in negotiations with Baghdad over the region’s eventual independence. The gambit backfired, however, as the Iraqi government sent in troops to seize parts of Kirkuk and its surrounding oil fields. The events led to the disruption of the Kirkuk oil fields, temporarily knocking some 400,000 bpd offline . The seizure of the Kirkuk oil fields also put an end to Kurdistan’s bid for independence. But, the issue over who controls the oil fields and how it should be exported has been bogged down since last year. Kurdistan controls the only […]