Kirkuk-Baniyas pipeline to boost Iraq’s exports by 2.25M bpd
Shafaq News- Baghdad
Iraq is pushing ahead with a strategic oil pipeline that could open new export routes for up to 2.25 million barrels per day (bpd), Oil Minister Basim Mohammed Khudair al-Abadi said on Saturday.
At a meeting attended by Deputy Oil Minister for Extraction Affairs Nasir Aziz and the directors-general of the state-run South Oil Company and North Oil Company, al-Abadi directed officials to accelerate the technical and commercial arrangements and finalize preparations ahead of the contract signing.
The proposed pipeline would run from the southern oil hub of Basra through Haditha to Fishkhabur in northern Iraq. A separate section would connect Haditha with Baniyas on Syria’s Mediterranean coast.
The ministry also reviewed plans for the project to be carried out by a consortium comprising US companies Chevron and TI Capital, along with Qatar’s UCC.
On July 17, Iraq and Syria signed a memorandum of understanding under US sponsorship to reactivate the Kirkuk-Baniyas pipeline, allowing Iraqi crude to reach Mediterranean ports through Syrian territory.
Read more: Preparatory studies begin on Kirkuk-Baniyas pipeline rehabilitation
