Turkey seeks full usage of oil pipeline with Iraq

Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar revealed on Monday that a suggested new energy deal between Turkey and Iraq must incorporate an approach to secure full usage of the two countries’ oil pipelines.

An official in the Iraqi Oil Ministry revealed last week that Ankara has submitted a proposal to Baghdad to renew and broaden the energy agreement between the two countries to encompass cooperation in oil, gas, petrochemicals, and electricity.

The official’s statements took place following Ankara’s announcement that the long-running oil pipeline arrangement with Iraq, reached in 1973, will be terminated in 2026.

The initial agreement between the two countries, established in July 1973, will expire on July 27, 2026, together with any relevant protocols, annexes, and extensions.

The 1973 agreement paved the way for the Iraq-Turkey crude oil pipeline. This critical infrastructure project enabled the transit of millions of barrels of Iraqi oil to the Turkish port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean.

Bayraktar told reporters following a cabinet meeting that the pipeline has a capacity of over 1.5 million barrels per day, explaining that it has never reached this capacity when oil flows were ongoing, according to Reuters.

The Turkish minister stated that Turkey’s proposal contained alternatives such as stretching the pipeline to southern Iraq.

To reach the pipeline’s full capacity, it needs to be extended to the southern part of Iraq, according to Bayraktar.

After the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris determined that Ankara had broken a 1973 convention by allowing oil exports without the permission of Baghdad, oil flows via the Iraq-Turkey oil pipeline were halted.

Efforts to restore oil exports have accelerated in 2025, with the Iraqi government approving a new oil agreement between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in July.

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