Iraq and Syria signed an agreement on July 17 at a chamber of commerce meeting in Washington to rebuild the crude pipeline linking Iraq’s northern Kirkuk oil fields to Syria’s Mediterranean coast, creating an export route that can bypass the Strait of Hormuz.
Middle East Eye and Al Jazeera reported that the signatories were Basra Oil Company CEO Bassem Abdul Karim Nasr and Syrian Petroleum Company CEO Youssef Qablawi. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright attended the signing as a witness.
Kirkuk-Baniyas line set for reconstruction
The Kirkuk-Baniyas pipeline was first built in 1952 and originally carried 300,000 barrels per day. Baghdad shut it down during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, and it suffered major damage again during the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq.
Under the reconstruction plan, nameplate capacity will increase to 700,000 barrels per day. The route will run overland from northern Iraq to the Syrian Mediterranean port of Baniyas, allowing Iraqi crude to enter Mediterranean shipping lanes without passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S.-led consortium to handle initial rebuild
The initial reconstruction work will be led by a U.S. business consortium that includes Chevron, Capital TI and a Qatari company. Officials estimate the project will take two to three years because the existing pumping and power systems need extensive refurbishment.
Iraq still relies heavily on Hormuz for crude exports
Iraq currently ships 95% of its crude exports through the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, and oil sales account for 90% of the country’s state budget.
Data from energy analytics firm Vortexa show that Iraq’s seaborne oil exports in May were only 8% of the 2025 monthly average, reflecting how recent geopolitical conflict in the waters around Hormuz has already constrained the country’s export capacity. If the Kirkuk-Baniyas line returns to service, it would become Iraq’s first physical bulk oil export corridor that bypasses the strait.