The Kurdish government in northern Iraq said the flow of crude oil to a Turkish sea port was halted because of theft.

The Kurdistan Regional Government said in a statement that saboteurs targeted a crude oil pipeline running north to the Turkish sea port at Ceyhan.

The Kurdish government credits crude oil exports through Turkey as a necessary economic lifeline.

“Revenue from crude oil export through the pipeline to Ceyhan represents the Kurdistan Region’s main means of survival,” it said. “Without such revenue, salaries of Peshmerga, the security forces and other key government workers cannot get paid.”

No blame was assigned for the latest crude oil theft. The government called on the perpetrators and their supporters to “immediately halt the theft of oil from the pipeline carrying crude oil from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.”