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Iraq is planning to increase oil exports from the Southern port of Basra via the Kirkuk-Kurdistan-Turkey pipeline within the next two weeks, a source at the North Oil Company (NOC) said on Thursday.
Oil is transported daily using nearly 400 tankers departing from the Zubair station in Basra Governorate towards the K1 station, which belongs to NOC in Kirkuk, the source said, cited by the official Iraqi News Agency.
There are 28 unloading points operating within NOC’s facilities to receive the crude oil, adding that the received quantities are then pumped through the pipeline network extending from the K1 station to the Saralo pumping station in Kurdistan, and from there through the Kurdistan Region's pipeline network to the Turkish port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean Sea.
The source said the daily volume of Basra crude oil arriving there is around 90,000 barrels, which are exported regularly via the Kirkuk-Ceyhan oil pipeline.
He noted that this step is part of technical and operational arrangements aimed at utilising the existing infrastructure of the northern pipeline network.
“Authorities have a plan to increase the volume of oil transported from Basra via the Kirkuk-Kurdistan pipeline to around 140,000 barrels per day within the next two weeks, as part of efforts to boost oil exports and achieve greater flexibility in transportation and export operations,” the source said.
Current daily exports via the pipeline is around 230,000 barrels per day, including 30,000 barrels from the Kurdistan Region, while the remaining quantities represent oil from the southern fields, particularly those in Basra, he added.
(Writing by N Saeed; Editing by Anoop Menon)
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