Iraq, Syria sign deal in Washington to revive crude oil pipeline

• US energy company Chevron to rehabilitate oil pipeline linking Haditha in Iraq to Baniyas in Syria, reports Iraqi News Agency

Iraq and Syria signed a memorandum of understanding in Washington on Friday to rehabilitate and reconstruct the Iraq-Syria crude oil pipeline, a project aimed at restoring a key export route from Iraqi oil fields to Syria’s Mediterranean coast.

The agreement was signed during the US-Iraq Business Council meeting by Bassem Abdul Karim Nasr, head of Basra Oil Company, on behalf of Iraq, and Youssef Qablawi, CEO of the Syrian Petroleum Company, on behalf of Syria. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright was also present at the signing ceremony.

The US State Department welcomed the agreement, describing the project as a “priority infrastructure project of bilateral and regional strategic significance.”

"The United States welcomes the engagement of a US-led international consortium to execute the technical and financial aspects of this project," the department said in a statement.

"Today’s announcement marks an important milestone for the region and for Syria-Iraq relations," it added.

The State Department said both countries recognize the strategic objective of restoring the pipeline, adding that the project would have an initial transport capacity of 2 million barrels of crude oil per day.

The Iraqi News Agency (INA) also reported that Iraq and Syria signed a memorandum of understanding to rehabilitate the oil pipeline linking Haditha in Iraq to Baniyas in Syria, with US energy company Chevron set to implement the project.

Separately, the agency added that Iraq is set to sign 50 agreements and memorandums of understanding with the US worth $60 billion.

The pipeline, which runs from the oil-rich Kirkuk region in northern Iraq to Syria's Mediterranean port of Baniyas, has been out of service since it was damaged during the 2003 US invasion of Iraq.

The announcement comes as global shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has sharply declined in the wake of the US-Israeli war on Iran, prompting countries to consider alternative routes.