Iraq, Syria agree to build strategic oil export pipeline - EUROPE SAYS
BAGHDAD, Iraq (MNTV) — Iraq and Syria have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop an 800-kilometer oil pipeline linking western Iraq with Syria’s Mediterranean coast, marking a significant step. . .
BAGHDAD, Iraq (MNTV) — Iraq and Syria have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop an 800-kilometer oil pipeline linking western Iraq with Syria’s Mediterranean coast, marking a significant step toward creating a new export route for crude shipments to Europe. The proposed pipeline will run from Haditha in Iraq’s Anbar province to the Syrian port city of Baniyas. Officials said the project is intended to diversify Iraq’s export options while reducing reliance on existing regional shipping routes. According to the Syrian Petroleum Company (SPC), the pipeline is expected to take between two and two-and-a-half years to complete. The agreement signed by both countries covers preliminary technical studies and financial assessments before construction begins. Safwan al-Sheikh Ahmad, director of communications and institutions at the SPC, said the planned onshore pipeline will have the capacity to transport approximately 2. 5 million barrels of oil per day once operational. The memorandum of understanding was signed alongside an implementation agreement involving U. S. -based Chevron, American company Capital TI and Qatar’s Urbacon Trading & Contracting (UCC), which are expected to participate in executing the project. The agreement follows intensified energy cooperation between Baghdad and Damascus after recent diplomatic talks during a visit by Iraq’s foreign minister to Syria. Officials from both countries also discussed the role of international companies in developing the cross-border infrastructure. The pipeline project builds on an earlier fuel transport arrangement between Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) and the Syrian Petroleum Company, under which Iraqi fuel oil is transported by road through the Al-Tanf border crossing to the Baniyas refinery before being shipped onward to European markets. Al-Sheikh Ahmad said the new pipeline would significantly lower transportation costs while easing pressure on road freight networks in both Iraq and Syria. He added that the memorandum is expected to lead to a binding commercial agreement following additional technical meetings, engineering inspections and exchanges of official delegations. The initiative has also received support from the U. S. State Department, which welcomed renewed international cooperation on regional energy infrastructure. The project forms part of broader efforts to establish alternative export routes that reduce dependence on the Strait of Hormuz for oil shipments.