Iraq and Syria have agreed to explore the revival of the Banias pipeline to export Iraqi crude through Syrian and Lebanese territories.
The decision was reached during talks between Iraq’s oil minister Hayan Abdul-Ghani Al-Sawad and Syrian energy minister Mohammed Bashir in Baghdad, the state-run Iraqi News Agency reported.
A joint committee will review the pipeline’s condition and commission an international consultant to assess the feasibility of resuming exports.
Al-Sawad said that Iraq has achieved significant progress in gas investment and oil refining, with plans to increase export capacities from its southern ports.
He said the country is seeking to resume exports through the Turkish pipeline via the Ceyhan port, and study proposals for exports via the Syrian Banias pipeline and the Lebanese Tripoli pipeline.
He said that the proposed Basra-Haditha pipeline project will have a capacity of 2.25 million barrels and will secure export volumes through the Syrian pipeline.
Further reading:
In mid-2023, Iraq approved a landmark three-year budget for the period 2023-2025 based on an average oil price of $70 a barrel and crude exports of 3.4 million barrels per day.
Annual spending was set at around $153 billion, with a shortfall of $49 billion, but parliament allowed the finance ministry to revise expenditure through the year, depending on oil market conditions.
Iraq, which is heavily reliant on oil exports, assumes $70 for the average price of its crude in annual budgets but this year prices swung way above and below that level.