Iraq, Syria sign deal in Washington to revive crude oil pipeline
In a major shift to bypass the heavily disrupted Strait of Hormuz, Iraq and Syria signed an agreement in Washington on Friday to rebuild their cross-border crude oil pipeline. Backed by a U.S.-led international consortium, the project aims to restore an overland export route from Kirkuk and Basra to Syria's Mediterranean port of Baniyas.
- World
- Anadolu Agency
- Published Date: 11:01 PM 17 July 2026
Iraq and Syria signed a cooperation agreement 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.
The State Department said both countries recognize the strategic objective of restoring the pipeline.
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.