Iraq and Turkey strike a 1-year oil pipeline deal to boost exports during ongoing Hormuz closures

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq and Turkey signed a deal Saturday to increase oil exports through a pipeline to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, as Baghdad seeks to diversify its oil export routes and reduce reliance on Gulf shipping lanes.

Iraqi Oil Minister Bassem Mohammed Khudair al-Abadi said in a statement that the agreement will remain in effect for one year while the two countries finalize a broader framework agreement covering cooperation in the oil, electricity and water resources sectors.

The agreement comes as Iraq moves to strengthen the resilience of its oil export infrastructure following disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz since the U.S.-Iran war began in February.

Al-Abadi said the deal provides for a minimum export volume of 750,000 barrels of Iraqi crude per day through the pipeline, which runs from Kirkuk in northern Iraq to Ceyhan.

The Iraq-Turkey pipeline has been largely idle since 2023 after exports from Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdish region were halted following legal and commercial disputes, although exports through it resumed in a limited capacity last year.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi called the agreement “an important strategic milestone to ensure the uninterrupted flow of our oil exports and strengthen economic cooperation.”

Before the conflict, Iraq was exporting around 3.5 million barrels of crude oil per day in total, with most of those exports shipped through its southern terminals via the Strait of Hormuz.

The planned exports through the Turkey pipeline would represent part of that total export capacity. It would not reach prewar levels but would represent an increase from the current exports of around 200,000 barrels per day.

Iraq relies heavily on oil revenues, which account for the vast majority of government income.

The signing of the deal comes days after al-Zaidi visited Ankara for talks on security, trade, energy, transportation and water management, as well as joint infrastructure projects between the two neighbors.

One project under consideration is a pipeline that would connect southern Iraq’s Basra to western Iraq’s Haditha and from there to the Ceyhan port in Turkey and the port of Baniyas on Syria’s coast.