Iraq, Turkiye discuss extending Ceyhan oil pipeline

Shafaq News/ On Sunday, Iraqi Foreign Minister, Fuad Hussein, met the Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar in Baghdad to discuss the development of joint energy projects.

According to a statement from Iraq’s Foreign Ministry, the discussions included encouraging Turkish companies to invest in Iraq’s oil and gas sector by providing necessary facilitations. The talks covered Iraq’s potential gas imports from Turkiye to support its power plants and enhance collaboration in this sector. Both sides emphasized the importance of continued coordination and follow-up on mutual interests.

The statement further confirmed that Iraq and Turkiye agreed to double the electricity supplies to Iraq, helping to meet the energy demands of the Kurdistan Region and Mosul. They also discussed renewing the Ceyhan pipeline agreement and the possibility of extending it south to boost Iraq’s crude export capacity and reach European markets.

The two sides also explored increasing electricity imports from Turkiye to address seasonal shortages and stressed the need to finalize technical preparations for the power interconnection project as soon as possible.

Notably, in March 2023, Turkiye halted the shipment of Kurdistan Region's oil to the port of Ceyhan after an international arbitration ruling ordered Ankara to pay compensation to Baghdad for violating a 1973 pipeline agreement. The ruling held Turkiye accountable for allowing oil exports from the Kurdistan Regional Government without Iraq’s approval.

The International Criminal Court ordered Turkiye to pay Baghdad $1.5 billion in damages for unauthorized exports from Kurdistan between 2014 and 2018. The pipeline from Kirkuk to Ceyhan remains the only export route for crude oil produced in northern Iraq.

Earlier today, Bayraktar met the Iraqi Electricity Minister, Ziad Fadhil, to discuss energy cooperation and the strengthening of the power grid connection between the two countries.