Shafaq News- Damascus

Syria is moving ahead with plans to rehabilitate the Kirkuk-Baniyas oil corridor with Iraq and an international consortium, Energy Minister Mohammad Al-Bashir said on Sunday.

During a hearing before Syria’s People’s Assembly, Al-Bashir said Damascus could receive transit fees and priority in purchasing oil transported through the line. He also pointed to potential benefits from Syria’s connection to the Arab Gas Pipeline and other domestic energy networks.

The project has advanced through several stages this year. Iraq and Syria initially agreed on June 29 to rehabilitate the route and establish joint committees to follow up cooperation in the energy sector. On July 17, the two sides formalized the project through memoranda signed in Washington with Iraq and an international consortium comprising Chevron, UCC Holding and TI Capital.

Iraq has also incorporated the Syrian route into a broader plan to diversify crude export outlets. The Oil Ministry previously said the proposed network includes a Basra-Haditha-Fishkhabur corridor and a second route extending from Haditha to Baniyas on Syria’s Mediterranean coast.

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