Turkiye and Iraq sign one-year oil pipeline transit deal
Turkiye and Iraq have signed a one-year agreement to keep crude flowing through the Kirkuk-Ceyhan Oil Pipeline, officials said on Saturday. The deal covers a stated transit capacity of 750,000 barrels per day and comes days after the previous bilateral arrangement lapsed. It was signed as both sides said they want to work toward a longer-term framework for the route.
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The agreement was concluded between Turkish state pipeline operator BOTAS and Iraq's state oil companies SOMO and NOC. Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said the deal followed a "productive meeting" in Ankara with Iraqi Oil Minister Bassem Mohammed Khudair. He said the new arrangement was a transit measure while efforts continued on a longer-term agreement for the pipeline.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi described the deal as an "important strategic milestone" and said the two governments would continue work on a broader framework agreement. He said that framework would cover oil, electricity, water resources and other areas of cooperation. The pipeline currently has a maximum capacity of about 1.5 million barrels per day, but actual flows have been well below that level in recent years.
The agreement matters because the Kirkuk-Ceyhan route is Iraq's only functioning oil export line to the Mediterranean. Bayraktar said the deal had a more strategic role given developments in global oil markets. The timing also follows a period of disruption in regional energy trade, including Iraq's search for alternative export routes after Iran's effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz earlier this year.
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The pipeline has been central to Iraq-Turkiye energy ties for decades, but the latest deal comes after the previous arrangement expired last week. Turkish data cited in the report said the line is currently carrying about 170,000 barrels per day, far below its design capacity. The new one-year transit agreement is intended to keep exports moving while negotiations continue on a wider settlement.
What remains unclear is how quickly the longer-term framework can be completed and whether flows will rise from current levels. It is also not yet clear how the new transit arrangement will affect broader talks on energy, water and electricity cooperation between the two countries. For now, the deal provides a temporary legal basis for shipments through a route that remains important to Iraq's export system and to regional oil trade.
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