A new draft agreement for the Iraq-Türkiye Crude Oil Pipeline has been sent to Iraqi officials, aiming to utilize the pipeline's full capacity of 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd), a potential $40 billion trade opportunity, the Turkish energy and natural resources minister said on Wednesday.
"At full capacity, this means nearly $40 billion in annual trade," Alparslan Bayraktar said during Anadolu's Editors' Desk.
"Iraq exports 4 million barrels of oil per day, all via the Persian Gulf. This route can provide an alternative for 1.5 million barrels, about 40% of Iraq's exports," Bayraktar added.
The route also offers access to European and Mediterranean markets, he added.
According to a presidential decree published in the Official Gazette last week, the Türkiye-Iraq Crude Oil Pipeline Agreement, in effect since 1973, will expire as of July 27, 2026.
Oil flow from Iraq to Türkiye's Ceyhan Port ceased on March 25, 2023, amid ongoing political and legal disputes between Erbil and Baghdad.
Bayraktar emphasized that Türkiye fulfilled its legal obligations by notifying Iraq before the current agreement expires in July 2026.
"Could we have extended it automatically? Yes, we could have, but what kind of agreement would we have extended? We would have extended an agreement that had not reached its capacity limit," Bayraktar explained.
Instead, Türkiye proposed a new agreement with no legal ambiguities, focused on maximizing capacity, he said.
By Handan Kazanci
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr