Ankara, Baghdad to sign 12-month deal on Iraq-Türkiye pipeline

Türkiye and Iraq are set to sign a one-year agreement in the coming days to keep open the crude ‌oil pipeline between the two countries, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on Thursday.

Their decades-old agreement, which governs exports through the Iraq-Türkiye Crude Oil Pipeline, is due to expire on July 27.

“We have brought the agreement ⁠that will cover the next 12 months to the final stage. We aim to sign it in the coming days,” Bayraktar, who was in Baghdad for an official visit, said in a statement.

He added that oil flow from Iraq to Türkiye’s port of Ceyhan on the eastern Mediterranean coast will continue.

The pipeline had ‌remained ⁠offline for 2-1/2 years after an arbitration court ruled for Ankara to pay $1.5 billion over what it said were unauthorized exports by Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) between 2014 and 2018.

Türkiye, on the other hand, said the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) had recognized most of Ankara’s demands.

Flows resumed late ⁠last year.

Earlier on Thursday, Bayraktar said he had a fruitful meeting with Iraqi Oil Minister Basim ⁠Mohammed Khudair, during which they discussed oil and gas cooperation.

“We assessed the areas of cooperation we can develop in the oil and natural gas sectors, particularly focusing on the Iraq-Türkiye Crude Oil Pipeline,” he wrote on the social media platform X.

He said the effective use of existing infrastructure and its support through new connections form the foundation of the two countries’ shared energy vision.

Bayraktar added that Türkiye aims to turn the Development Road Project into not only a trade and transportation corridor but also a regional energy route.

He said Ankara attaches importance to advancing cooperation with Iraq’s newly established government through close coordination, and that concrete steps would raise the partnership between the two countries to a higher level.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi also met ⁠with Bayraktar during his visit, according to his office.

During the meeting, al-Zaidi said the two countries have significant opportunities for cooperation and partnership across multiple sectors and called on Türkiye to increase its investments in Iraq, particularly in agriculture.

He said efforts are underway to establish a Türkiye-Iraq fund to strengthen the two countries’ economic partnership and support and accelerate Turkish investments in Iraq.

Al-Zaidi also stressed that Iraq is making significant progress under a major development program, particularly in the agriculture and livestock sectors, adding that the government has begun providing the necessary infrastructure and facilities for investors.

DAILYSABAH