Iraq plans oil pipeline to Oman to boost exports

Shafaq News – Baghdad

Iraq is preparing to build a new oil pipeline through the Gulf to Oman to expand its crude export routes, the head of the country’s State Oil Marketing Company (SOMO) told Shafaq News on Thursday.

SOMO Director General Ali Nizar said that Iraq and Oman have reached a preliminary agreement on the project, which will begin with the construction of storage tanks with a capacity of 10 million barrels at Oman’s Duqm port. He noted the capacity could be increased in the coming years.

Once the tanks are complete, Iraq will initially ship crude by tanker until the pipeline is built, Nizar explained. Discussions are underway to determine the pipeline’s route—either overland, which would require transit agreements with neighboring states, or via the Gulf, running from Basra to Oman’s coast.

Earlier this month, Baghdad and Muscat signed two agreements and 24 memoranda of understanding covering energy and other sectors during Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s visit to Muscat, where he met Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said.