Iraq to resume oil exports through Türkiye’s Ceyhan Port after yearlong halt
A section of the Iraq-Türkiye pipeline, a key route for crude oil exports, accessed on 26 February, 2025. (AA Photo)
Iraq announced Friday that it will resume oil exports through Türkiye’s Ceyhan Port within hours, ending a suspension that has reportedly cost the country more than $23 billion in economic losses.
The Iraqi Oil Marketing Company (SOMO) will initially export 185,000 barrels per day, with plans to gradually increase the volume to meet capacity targets specified in the federal budget, according to Oil Minister Hayyan Abdul Ghani.
“This would be gradually increased until it reached the capacity specified in the federal budget,” Abdul Ghani told journalists during a visit to oil fields in southern Iraq.
The resumption comes after oil flows from Iraq to Ceyhan were halted on March 25, 2023, following a decision by the Paris-based International Court of Arbitration regarding oil exports between Türkiye and Iraq.
In a related development, the Iraqi Parliament recently approved amendments to the budget law that set the cost of extracting and transporting each barrel of oil from the Kurdish Regional Government at $16.
The restart of exports through this key pipeline marks a significant moment for Iraq’s oil sector, which has struggled with the financial impact of the 15-month suspension.
The Türkiye-Iraq pipeline had been a crucial export route, particularly for oil from Iraq’s Kurdish region, before international arbitration issues led to its closure last year.
