Iraq to triple crude oil exports via Ceyhan pipeline amid Strait of Hormuz closure

Iraq plans to triple crude oil exports through the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline to 650,000 bpd after Strait of Hormuz closure slashed southern exports by 89%.

mercoledì 3 giugno 2026 New tab

TL;DRAI

Iraq tripled Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline flow to 650,000 bpd after Hormuz closure caused 89% export drop during Iran conflict. Hormuz shutdown blocks 20% global supply, signaling infrastructure vulnerability raising energy costs for downstream tech operations.

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Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government are fast-tracking a pipeline capacity expansion to offset the catastrophic loss of southern export routes during the Iran conflict.

Iraq is scrambling to reroute its oil exports through Turkey after the Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint that once carried the vast majority of the country’s crude, effectively shut down amid the 2026 Iran conflict. The plan: triple the flow through the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline from roughly 200,000 barrels per day to as much as 650,000 bpd.

Iraq’s southern exports, which flow through the Strait of Hormuz and into the Persian Gulf, collapsed to just 10 million barrels in April 2026. For context, normal monthly volumes through that route sit around 93 million barrels. That’s a roughly 89% drop, practically overnight in oil market terms.