The Iraqi Parliament held a first reading of the stalled 2014 federal budget despite a Kurdish boycott, but a second reading has not been scheduled, suggesting the legislature may struggle to pass the budget bill before April elections. Then, in a sudden about-face, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), offered to resume ‘official’ crude oil exports at 100,000 b/d as a goodwill gesture to Baghdad, a small step that may break the ice and lead to an end of the long-running dispute between the two.