More News, Rumors and Opinions Friday PM 7-18-2025
KTFA:
Clare: A delegation from the region will visit Baghdad on Sunday to implement the oil and salaries agreement.
7/18/2025
Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Wafaa Mohammed Karim announced that a government delegation from the Kurdistan Region will visit the capital, Baghdad, next Sunday, to implement the federal cabinet's decision issued yesterday.
Karim explained in a statement to Al Furat News Agency that "the Kurdistan Region agreed to deliver 1.23 million barrels of oil per month to the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO), in exchange for receiving revenues worth 120 billion dinars per month, while keeping 50 thousand barrels for internal use and petroleum derivatives."
He added that "practical measures to implement the decision will begin next Sunday," noting that "there is insufficient confidence in the federal government's promises. We await actual results from the federal authorities, and that government delegations from the region are closely monitoring the matter."
From.. Raghad LINK
Clare: Minister of Industry: The Cabinet's decision on the region's imports included solutions to issues that have been pending for years.
7/17/2025 Baghdad - INA
Minister of Industry Khaled Battal confirmed on Thursday that the Cabinet's decision regarding oil and non-oil imports to the Kurdistan Region includes sustainable solutions that will resolve issues that have been pending for years, noting that it includes guarantees for the resolution's implementation.
Battal told Al Iraqiya News, as reported by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), "The agreement on the delivery of oil imports from the Kurdistan Region, as well as non-oil imports, was the subject of discussions between technical committees in the federal government and the regional government over a period of three weeks."
He added, "The committees discussed a number of issues related to imports and salary localization, and these were then discussed in the Council of Ministers, as some matters require decisions from the Council. Over the past two days, intensive meetings were held to implement these decisions, and today the May salary disbursement to the region's employees was approved."
He continued, "The Prime Minister views all Iraqi employees, from north to south, as equal in rights and was keen to find a solution, especially since the issue involves overlapping issues, as it is linked to the Federal Court's ruling, the budget law, and the audit and review balances conducted by the Board of Supreme Audit."
He pointed out that "the decision represents a roadmap for resolving problems that have been pending for many years, as the issue has been repeated over the course of successive governments, and there was no agreement to hand over the oil produced by the region to the federal government, represented by the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO)."
He stressed that "successful implementation of the agreement means finding sustainable solutions to many of the outstanding issues that have long been controversial in practice and law. A key point in the decision was the emphasis on the localization of salaries for the region's employees. May salaries will be disbursed, and three months will be required to complete the process. After that, salaries will be delivered to those whose salaries are localized only."
He pointed out that "guarantees for the implementation of the decision are included in the decision itself, which stipulates that the points of contention be reviewed within two weeks for the purpose of classifying and auditing non-oil revenues and determining the federal government's share thereof, starting in May 2025, taking into account the values of non-oil revenue rates according to the audit balances mentioned in the joint reports between the Federal Board of Financial Supervision and the Regional Board of Supervision, since the entry into force of the Federal General Budget Law."
He explained that "the issue of non-oil revenues was the most important point of contention, as it should be specified. For example, the audit balance confirmed that revenues reached 4.7 billion in 2023, and 4.71 billion in 2024. We call on our brothers in the region to cooperate with these committees to resolve the issue."
The Council of Ministers, in its extraordinary session held today, Thursday, issued a decision regarding the delivery of oil imports from the Kurdistan Region and non-oil imports.
The decision included first: the oil delivery file:
1. The regional government shall immediately begin delivering all oil produced from the region’s oil fields to the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) for export purposes. The federal Ministry of Finance shall be obligated to pay an advance to the regional government of $16 (in kind or cash) for each barrel received under the Budget Amendment Law, provided that the quantity received is not less than the current 230,000 barrels per day, to which any increase in production shall be added through the Joint Measurement and Calibration Committee. In the event that exports are halted for any reason, the entire aforementioned quantity shall be delivered to the federal Ministry of Oil.
Clarification: Total production currently stands at 280,000 barrels per day, according to the region's reports. Of this, 50,000 barrels per day are allocated for domestic consumption in the region, while the remaining 230,000 barrels per day, along with any future production increases, are delivered to SOMO for export purposes.
2. A quantity of 50,000 barrels per day shall be allocated for local consumption in the region, provided that the regional government undertakes to pay the costs of production and transportation for this quantity, and that the revenues from the sale of petroleum derivatives shall be transferred to the federal public treasury after deducting the costs of production, transportation and refining.
In the event that the region needs it, the federal Ministry of Oil shall, in accordance with the law, supply the region with quantities of products, not exceeding the refining output of 15,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
A joint committee from the federal Ministry of Oil and the Ministry of Natural Resources in the region shall assess the region’s actual need for petroleum products for the purpose of allocating them, and shall submit its report within two weeks to the federal Council of Ministers for decision.
Second: Non-oil revenues file:
The regional government shall deliver an amount of (120) billion dinars as an initial estimated payment for the state treasury’s share of non-oil revenues for the month of May to the Federal Ministry of Finance, to be settled after the audit is completed in accordance with paragraph (2) below.
A working group will be formed from the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Federal Board of Financial Supervision, in coordination with the Ministry of Finance and the Regional Board of Financial Supervision, to classify and audit non-oil revenues and determine the federal government’s share thereof, starting in May 2025. This will take into account the values of non-oil revenue rates according to the audit balances mentioned in the joint reports between the Federal Board of Financial Supervision and the Regional Board of Supervision, since the entry into force of the Federal General Budget Law. The team will submit its report within two weeks to the Federal Council of Ministers for consideration.
A joint committee between the federal government and the regional government will be formed to complete the localization of salaries in the region, in accordance with the decision of the Federal Court. The committee will complete its mission within a period not exceeding three months, and funding will be allocated exclusively to the localized salaries at the end of the aforementioned period.
A team will be formed from the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Federal Board of Financial Supervision, in coordination with the Ministry of Finance and the Board of Financial Supervision in the region, to determine the amount of the region’s share exceeding actual spending and how to address it in accordance with the Federal General Budget Law for the years (2023-2024-2025). Its report will be submitted within a maximum period of two weeks to the Federal Council of Ministers.
The Ministry of Finance will begin disbursing salaries to the region's employees for the month of May as a start to implementing the agreement after the Federal Ministry of Oil/SOMO approves the receipt of the full quantity of oil mentioned in paragraph 1 (currently 230,000 barrels per day) at the port of Ceyhan, in accordance with the law.
The periods mentioned in this decision shall begin from the date of its approval by the Council of Ministers. LINK
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Courtesy of Dinar Guru: https://www.dinarguru.com/
Fnu Lnu I just found out that SWIFT is to be converted over to Ripple Ledger and XRP bridge currency at 3 AM this morning 07/18/25 which may be a reason so many banks were in a panic all week. This in conjunction with the ISO-20022 mandate starting on the 14th meant the banks had their hands full all week long.
Frank26 [Iraq boots-on-the-ground report] FIREFLY: Two days in a row the parallel market is at 1397. That's great news. The market...is so close to 1310. We're headed in the right direction...Saleh is back on TV talking about the great job the CBI has done and says our parallel market would have already been equal to the official exchange rate of the CBI if not for tensions in the region... FRANK: Slowly but surely the black market is disappearing...As it disappears we approach the 1 to 1 relationship with the American dollar which will lead you into a float.
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The Endgame for Fiat Currencies Feat. Alasdair Macleod
Kinesis Money: 7-18-2025
In this week’s Live from the Vault, Andrew Maguire is joined by Alasdair Macleod to examine the West’s deepening sovereign debt crisis and warn of a looming fiat endgame, as governments remain paralysed by mismanagement and rising tariffs.
Exposing the trillion-dollar fragilities underpinning the US Treasury and derivatives markets, Macleod explains why interest rates must rise - and why gold is being quietly revalued by central banks as the final bastion of trust.
Timestamps:
00:00 Start
01:05 Paper currency crisis looms as tax revenue collapses
07:39 Global debt spiral accelerates as gold reclaims safe haven
14:14 Credit bubble echoes 1929 as gold asserts real value
22:00 Silver surges as gold nears a physical market breakout
29:26 Gold delivery demands overwhelm bullion banks
35:10 Paper gold crisis brews as Asia shifts to physical bullion
43:07 Fiat currency devaluation accelerates globally