North Oil Company says Kirkuk pipeline ready for pumping

Shafaq News- Kirkuk

Iraq's state-run North Oil Company has completed the technical and engineering work needed to begin receiving and pumping crude in Kirkuk through the strategic pipeline running to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, the company said on Saturday.

The first step is filling the 40-inch line to carry crude to the IT1A pumping station, after which oil will be pumped through the 46-inch line for a full-load trial run conducted with the relevant authorities.

IT1A is ready to receive and pump between 300,000 and 350,000 barrels per day, according to the company, as part of preparations to resume exports through the northern system.

What The Route Would Change

The northern outlet matters because Iraq currently depends almost entirely on its southern ports for crude exports, according to Ali Khalil, an oil and energy specialist who spoke to Shafaq News. Restarting shipments through Ceyhan would give the country a second strategic export route, add flexibility, cut transport costs and improve the economics of the northern fields, he said.

North Oil Company produces around 325,000 barrels per day from fields in Kirkuk province and adjacent areas. Most of that volume currently goes to domestic refineries and to supplying other oil installations, which Khalil said makes reopening the northern export outlet necessary to absorb any future rise in output.

“The announced capacity of IT1A, at 300,000 to 350,000 barrels per day, roughly matches the company's present production, meaning the line could carry most of the crude from Kirkuk's fields once fully in service.”

Khalil explained that a successful full-load trial would clear the way for export volumes to be raised gradually, and development projects run by the Oil Ministry and the company, alongside new investment plans in the Kirkuk fields, “could push production above current levels, which in turn would require export infrastructure capable of handling the increase.”