PHOTO
Iraq has announced that the crude oil pipeline from Kirkuk to Nineveh will be operational within a month.
Oil Ministry undersecretary Basim Khudair said the Ministry is working on the Kirkuk-Nineveh pipeline as part of the Iraq-Turkey crude oil pipeline extending to Ceyhan Port on the Mediterranean Sea.
He told the official Iraqi News Agency on Sunday that the pipeline, which is located outside the Kurdistan Region, has an export capacity of up to 350,000 barrels per day (bpd), but reaching this figure is not currently possible due to the limited capacity of the existing pipeline between Basra and Kirkuk.
Baghdad is seeking to diversify crude oil export routes after closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to US-Israel and Iran war curtailed its exports.
“The proposed technical solution for this is the future strategic Basra-Haditha pipeline project, which has a large export capacity,” Khudair said, adding that Iraq was exporting 3.4 million bpd before the current events, while the actual production is 4.2 million bpd.
The North Oil Company had resumed exports to Ceyhan via the Saralo pumping station in Kurdistan, with an initial capacity of 250,000 bpd after Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) agreed to let Baghdad use its export pipeline to Fishkhabour on the Turkish border in March 2026.
Last week, Iraq Oil report said in a report that repair and reconstruction of some segments of Iraq-Turkey Pipeline are near completion but repairs and pressure tests on the 48-inch Baiji-Fishkhabour line are expected to take several more months.
Last month, Zawya Projects had reported that the Iraq-Turkey pipeline was undergoing hydrostatic testing prior to resuming operations.
(Writing by N Saeed; Editing by Anoop Menon)
Subscribe to our Projects' PULSE newsletter that brings you trustworthy news, updates and insights on project activities, developments, and partnerships across sectors in the Middle East and Africa.
