Shafaq News- Baghdad
The United States, Iraq, andSyria are expected to unveil plans next week to revive the historicKirkuk-Baniyas oil pipeline, creating an alternative export route for Iraqicrude and reducing the country’s reliance on the Strait of Hormuz, UK-based MiddleEast Eye (MEE) reported on Saturday.
Citing senior Iraqi andregional officials, the publication indicated that the announcement is likelyto coincide with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi’s mid-July visit toWashington for talks with US President Donald Trump. US envoy Tom Barrack hasbeen coordinating the initiative, which would restore the roughly 500-milepipeline connecting Iraq’s northern oil fields with Syria’s Mediterranean portof Baniyas.
The line, shut down in the1980s and later damaged during the 2003 Iraq war, would require extensivereconstruction over an estimated two to three years.
: Kirkuk–Baniyas Pipeline: Iraq’s direct oil lifeline to the Mediterranean
“Iraq has started to see Syriain a different light. Prior to the war, it was scepticism. The reality of thewar made it clear that Iraq needs Syria,” independent Iraqi analyst SarhangHamasaeed said.
The initiative, according to MEE,gathered momentum after disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuzhighlighted Iraq’s dependence on the route, which carries about 95% of thecountry’s oil exports. US companies and regional partners have already beenselected for preliminary work on pipeline segments between Kirkuk and Hadithaand the Syrian port of Baniyas. Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shibani isalso expected to attend the signing ceremony.
: No exit but Hormuz: Iraq's economic vulnerability exposed
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