Ankara: Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaydi on Friday described the newly signed agreement with Trkiye on the Iraq-Trkiye Crude Oil Pipeline as a strategic milestone that will ensure uninterrupted Iraqi oil exports and deepen bilateral economic cooperation.
According to Anadolu Agency, Al-Zaydi emphasized in a social media post that the agreement regarding the transportation and loading of Iraqi crude through the Iraq-Trkiye Pipeline to the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan guarantees a minimum export capacity of 750,000 barrels per day. He stated, "Iraq and Trkiye achieved an important strategic milestone to ensure the uninterrupted flow of our oil exports and strengthen economic cooperation."
The prime minister further noted that Iraqi and Turkish companies would immediately commence the implementation of the agreement. Additionally, both governments are set to work through a carefully planned process to finalize a comprehensive framework agreement covering sectors such as oil, electricity, and water resources, alongside other areas of cooperation aimed at advancing development and stability.
Earlier on Friday, Trkiye and Iraq signed a one-year agreement to maintain operations of the Iraq-Trkiye Crude Oil Pipeline, preserving a strategic export route with a daily transportation capacity of up to 750,000 barrels while negotiations continue on a long-term framework. The agreement was signed by Trkiye's state pipeline operator BOTAS and Iraq's state-owned oil companies, the State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO), and the North Oil Company (NOC), following discussions in Ankara between Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar and Iraqi Oil Minister Basim Mohammed Khudair.
Bayraktar described the agreement as a historic step in bilateral energy cooperation, emphasizing the pipeline's increasing importance as an alternative export route amid the Hormuz crisis, where approximately 20 million barrels of oil are effectively stranded in the Gulf. He also mentioned Trkiye's aim to fully utilize the pipeline's 1.5 million-barrel-per-day capacity, with a vision of transporting crude from Iraq, Kuwait, and other Gulf countries to global markets through the Ceyhan route in the future.