The United States is throwing its weight behind resurrecting a decades-old crude oil pipeline connecting Iraq and Syria.
The Kirkuk-Baniyas pipeline, originally built in 1952, once moved up to 300,000 barrels per day before the 2003 invasion of Iraq rendered it inoperable. Now, more than two decades later, Washington sees it as a strategic chess piece worth rebuilding.
The deal taking shape
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi is expected to sign a memorandum of understanding with US investment firm TI Capital during a White House meeting with President Donald Trump in mid-July 2026. The MoU would formalize what’s been building for months: a concerted effort to give Iraq an export route that doesn’t depend on the Strait of Hormuz.
Iraq’s cabinet approved preliminary agreements on July 5, 2026, clearing the path for a US-Qatari consortium to study strategic oil export pipelines. The consortium includes TI Capital, Chevron, and Qatar’s UCC.
