On Friday, Iraq and Syria agreed to revive a long-idled oil pipeline linking northern Iraq to Syria’s Mediterranean coast as Baghdad looks to reduce its reliance on the Strait of Hormuz following disruptions caused by the recent U.S.-Iran conflict.
Iraq, Syria Sign Deal To Reopen Strategic Oil Export Route
The agreement was signed during a U.S.-Iraq investment summit in Washington, with U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright overseeing the signing by Basra Oil Company CEO Bassem Abdul Karim Nasr and Syrian Petroleum Company CEO Youssef Qablawi, CNBC reported.
The pipeline, which runs from Iraq’s northern oil hub of Kirkuk to Syria’s Mediterranean coast, has a nameplate capacity of 700,000 barrels per day. It has remained offline since it was damaged during the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq.
“There is so much room to drive improvement in Iraq, to raise oil production, to reduce dependencies on hostile neighbors, to bring freedom, prosperity and abundant energy to the nation of Iraq,” Wright said before the signing.
