Iraq in Talks with Iran to Safeguard Oil Tanker Traffic through Hormuz, Oil Minister Says

Iraq's Oil Ministry's Media Office

Iraqi Oil Minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani.

Iraq’s oil minister said Baghdad is holding talks with Iran over allowing some Iraqi oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, the state news agency (INA) reported on Tuesday, as the country seeks to ease disruptions to crude exports following recent attacks on tankers in its own waters.

“There is ongoing communication with Iran regarding allowing the passage of some Iraqi oil tankers,” Oil Minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani said in a video statement released on Monday.

He added that Iraq was among the first members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to reduce production following the outbreak of the conflict, with output falling to around 1.2 million barrels per day from a previous 4.3 million barrels.

The minister explained that Iraq had requested the Kurdistan Region to temporarily use the oil export pipeline, agreeing to pay two dollars per barrel. 

“However, the Kurdistan authorities later imposed additional conditions, including the purchase of surplus electricity from two power plants and postponing the implementation of the ASYCUDA system for six months,” he said.

He also confirmed ongoing talks with the Islamic Republic of Iran over permitting the passage of some oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, noting that both Iraq and Syria have expressed a strong desire for joint cooperation to export Iraqi crude through the ports of Tartus and Banias.

Furthermore, the Oil Minister said that Iraq will complete an inspection of a 100-km (62-mile) section of the pipeline within a week to enable direct exports from Kirkuk.

The reopening of the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline, closed for more than a decade, would provide Iraq with an alternative export route at a time when shipping through the strategic Strait of Hormuz is severely disrupted by conflict in the Middle East.

The 960-kilometre pipeline, which once handled around 0.5% of global oil supply, was shut in 2014 following repeated attacks by Islamic State militants.

According to the Iraqi Oil Ministry, exports via the route could initially reach approximately 250,000 barrels per day, potentially rising to 450,000 bpd if crude from fields in the Kurdistan Region is included.

Baghdad has attempted to use the Kurdistan pipeline as a temporary route for crude exports, but claimed that the Kurdistan Regional Government had imposed arbitrary conditions, warning that legal action could follow if exports are blocked.

Kurdish authorities have rejected the accusations, stating that they are not obstructing exports and that Baghdad has failed to address security and economic challenges affecting the region’s oil sector.




PUKMEDIA