Iraq signs deals to revive Mediterranean oil export route
Baghdad reached preliminary agreements with Western companies as it seeks oil export options that bypass the Strait of Hormuz.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
Iraq signed a series of preliminary agreements with Western companies in Washington, including a plan to restore a crude pipeline from northern Iraq to Syria’s Mediterranean coast, Reuters and The Associated Press reported. The package gives Baghdad a potential export route outside the Strait of Hormuz, where Al Jazeera reported shipping has been heavily disrupted during the US-Israel war against Iran.
The agreements were reached Friday at a US-Iraq business summit hosted by the US Chamber of Commerce, according to Reuters and AP. Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi attended the event in Washington, where Iraqi officials presented the deals as part of a broader push to attract foreign investment.
Pipeline plan through Syria
Iraq and Syria signed a cooperation agreement to rebuild the Iraq-Syria crude oil pipeline, Reuters and AP reported. The line connects the Kirkuk oil-producing region in northern Iraq with the Syrian port of Baniyas on the Mediterranean.
Iraq’s state news agency reported that Chevron would carry out the pipeline project under the agreement. The US Department of State said it welcomed the Iraqi-Syrian plan and said a US-led international consortium would handle the project’s technical and financial work.
The State Department said the restored pipeline would initially be able to move 2 million barrels of crude oil per day. It described the route as an important link between Iraqi oil output and export markets in the Mediterranean and beyond.
US ambassador to Turkiye Tom Barrack said the pipeline agreements would lead to a program that would make the Strait of Hormuz “an afterthought,” according to Reuters and AP. The comment underscored the strategic value Washington and Baghdad see in export routes that avoid the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman.
Chevron, Starlink among companies involved
Chevron also signed two other agreements with Iraq aimed at raising oil production, the company’s president of corporate business development, Jake Spiering, said, according to Reuters and AP. The reports did not provide further terms for those two agreements.
Iraqi state media also reported that the government signed an official agreement with Starlink, the satellite internet company owned by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, allowing it to operate formally in Iraq. Reuters said the broader group of initial agreements with US firms covers energy, healthcare and technology.
Reuters reported that the initial agreements are worth more than $60bn in total. The reports characterized the deals as part of Baghdad’s effort to deepen commercial ties with Western companies while expanding options for its energy sector.
Al-Zaidi told the Washington summit through a translator that Iraq was pursuing an “open-door policy,” according to Reuters and AP. “Everybody who has a project can come and talk to us,” he said. “We will not make it difficult for anyone.”
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.