Iraq pushes to expand exports through Turkish pipeline

Shafaq News- Baghdad

An Iraqi government delegation held talks in Turkiye on expanding crude oil exports through the Iraq-Turkiye pipeline, a government source told Shafaq News on Saturday.

The delegation was headed by Deputy Oil Minister for Extraction Affairs Nasser Aziz and included State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO) Director General Nizar Al-Shatri, North Oil Company Director General Faisal Hamadi Ramadan, and senior officials from the ministry's legal, economic, and internal audit departments.

According to the source, discussions with Turkiye's Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources focused on the Iraq-Turkiye Pipeline Agreement, increasing the pipeline's export capacity beyond previous levels, and strengthening security along the route from Kirkuk to the Turkish port of Ceyhan.

The proposed increase is intended to offset the impact of regional security developments that have disrupted Iraqi crude exports and weighed on government revenues, the source said.

The talks preceded an expected visit by Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi to Turkiye, where the two countries are expected to discuss a range of bilateral agreements, including cooperation in the energy sector.

Earlier this month, Oil Minister Bassem Khudair said Baghdad was accelerating plans to build a pipeline linking Iraqi oil fields to Mediterranean ports in Turkiye and Syria. Last week, the state-run North Oil Company (NOC) announced it had completed the technical and engineering preparations required to resume crude pumping from Kirkuk to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, saying the system was ready to begin operations.

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