Kirkuk, the city in the Iraqi Kurdistan region, has received new payments for exported oil from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) bringing up the total amount paid to Kirkuk to $50 million since December 2015, Rudaw reported.

The so-called petrodollar money is paid to Kirkuk city for every exported barrel of oil from the two main fields in the province, Bay Hasan and Havana. Under terms of the compensation system, Kirkuk should receive $2 for each exported barrel. City officials estimate that the owed amount is nearly $1b for exported oil since 2013.

According to Ekurd Daily, the Head of provincial council in Kirkuk, Rebwar Talabani, said: “The Iraqi government paid the petrodollar money until June 25th, 2015, but after the new deal between Baghdad and Erbil to export Kirkuk’s oil through Kurdistan Region, the KRG has the obligation to pay the money.”

Kirkuk holds some 10% of Iraq’s total oil reserves, estimated at 140b barrels.

Officials say oil production in Kirkuk has grown to an estimated 450,000 b/d with 360,000 b/d being exported to the Turkish Ceyhan port by both Erbil and Baghdad governments.