DistantNews
Support us
Türkiye, Iraq Sign One-Year Deal to Keep Oil Pipeline Flowing
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia /Energy & Infrastructure

Türkiye, Iraq Sign One-Year Deal to Keep Oil Pipeline Flowing

From Asharq Al-Awsat · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • Türkiye and Iraq have signed a one-year deal to maintain the operation of the crude oil pipeline between them.
  • The agreement extends a long-standing arrangement that allows Baghdad's sole functioning export pipeline, the Iraq-Türkiye Pipeline (ITP), to continue operating.
  • This interim deal provides time for negotiations on a more comprehensive, long-term agreement for the pipeline, which has a significant but currently underutilized capacity.

Türkiye and Iraq have agreed to a one-year extension for the crucial crude oil pipeline connecting the two nations, ensuring the continued operation of Baghdad's primary export route. The deal, signed by Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar and his Iraqi counterpart, maintains a decades-long bilateral arrangement that was set to expire.

This interim transit arrangement covers a daily capacity of 750,000 barrels. Minister Bayraktar described his meeting with the Iraqi delegation in Ankara as "productive," emphasizing that the agreement between Turkey's BOTAS and Iraq's state oil companies, SOMO and NOC, allows for continued oil flow while discussions progress.

While our efforts continue toward a new long-term agreement for this pipeline... we have implemented this transit arrangement covering a daily capacity of 750,000 barrels.

— Alparslan BayraktarTurkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar announced the one-year deal on X, detailing the capacity covered by the transit arrangement.

The extension is intended to facilitate negotiations for a more substantial, long-term agreement. Türkiye aims for the pipeline, which has a potential capacity of 1.5 million barrels per day, to be fully utilized and possibly extended to reach southern Iraqi oil fields. Current data indicates the pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan is operating at approximately 170,000 barrels per day, highlighting the potential for increased throughput.

productive

— Alparslan BayraktarTurkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar described his meeting with the Iraqi delegation in Ankara as 'productive' before the signing of the deal.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Asharq Al-Awsat in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog