Shafaq News- Baghdad/ Ankara

Iraq and Turkiye have agreed to include a joint oil refinery in Ceyhan in a broader energy agreement expected to be signed next year, IranOilGas Network reported, citing Iraq’s State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO).

The planned facility would process Iraqi crude at the Turkish Mediterranean port for export to European markets as refined products, providing Baghdad with additional revenues beyond crude sales.

The project is part of negotiations on a comprehensive framework covering oil, electricity, water resources, and other areas of bilateral cooperation. On Aug. 1, Baghdad and Ankara signed a one-year agreement setting a minimum Iraqi crude export volume of 750,000 barrels per day through the Iraq-Turkiye pipeline to Ceyhan while negotiations on the broader framework continue.

Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi said at the time that Iraqi and Turkish companies would begin implementing the arrangement, aimed at restoring oil flows and expanding economic cooperation.

The previous pipeline agreement expired on July 27. The route, Iraq’s only active crude export outlet outside its southern terminals, returned to service in September 2025 after a two-and-a-half-year shutdown linked to an international arbitration dispute over Kurdistan Region crude exports.

Read more: Iraq–Turkiye pipeline restart reshapes energy balance