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U.S. backs Iraq-Syria pipeline plan to route crude via the Mediterranean

The proposed Kirkuk-Baniyas pipeline would help Iraq export oil without relying on the Strait of Hormuz, while also reducing Iran’s ability to disrupt shipping there.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Energy

The United States supports plans by Iraq and Syria to rebuild a damaged oil pipeline that would move crude from Kirkuk to Syria’s Mediterranean coast and bypass the Strait of Hormuz, according to a U.S. State Department official cited by Reuters.

U.S. support is aimed at reducing the risk of future disruption to Hormuz shipping, and the plan also points to a role for U.S. companies in reconstruction of the Kirkuk-Baniyas oil route, Reuters reported.

The pipeline is described as important for Iraq’s oil exports that are not dependent on Hormuz, with potential spillover benefits for Syria’s post-war economy and lower Iranian leverage in the strait.

The effort is one of several options Iraq and Syria have been studying recently, with talks involving Syrian and Iraqi officials and oil companies, including Chevron, as Bloomberg reported, while alternative land routes between Iraq and Syria were also under consideration.

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