Baghdad and Damascus Discuss Reviving One of the Oldest Oil Pipelines in the Middle East
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani announced on Tuesday that Iraq and Syria have agreed to appoint a technical consultant to assess the technical and operational condition of the Kirkuk–Baniyas pipeline, in preparation for its rehabilitation and reactivation after more than two decades of inactivity.
Al-Sudani said, in remarks carried by Iraqi media, that “the two sides agreed to proceed with a comprehensive evaluation of the pipeline between Kirkuk and the Syrian port of Baniyas with the aim of reviving and restarting it,” noting that the project “holds strategic importance for both countries in strengthening their economic capacities and expanding Iraq’s oil export outlets.”
The Kirkuk–Baniyas pipeline, established in the 1950s, is considered one of the oldest and most significant oil arteries in the Middle East, as it used to transport Iraqi crude from the Kirkuk oil fields to the Syrian coast on the Mediterranean Sea, making Syria at the time a key export gateway for Iraqi oil to global markets.
The operation of the pipeline was halted in 2003 due to damage sustained during the Iraq War, after having previously been shut down twice — in 1982 and 2000 — due to political disputes between Baghdad and Damascus.
The new agreement comes after a series of mutual visits and technical consultations between officials from both countries, marking a joint desire to revive regional energy cooperation and to capitalize on their strategic positions as vital transit corridors for oil and energy in the region.
