Iraq’s oil pipeline to Syria’s Baniyas to take four years to complete

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Sources told Reuters that the oil pipeline Iraq plans to construct to the Syrian port of Baniyas will take four years to complete at a cost of at least $15 billion.

The initiative, supported by a partnership including US-based Chevron, aims to minimize dependency on the Strait of Hormuz, which has been closed due to the conflict between Iran and the United States.

US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent stated last week that prior to the conflict, a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies were transported through the Strait of Hormuz. However, he noted that between 50 and 70 percent of those exports will flow via underground pipelines instead.

The Kirkuk-Baniyas oil pipeline is being revived to export one million barrels of Iraqi oil per day.

The initiative represents a genuine opportunity arising from the present maritime difficulties facing ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

Steps have already been taken to revive the ancient 800-kilometer Kirkuk-Baniyas oil pipeline, which was built in 1952 and had previously been destroyed because of instability.

The project is anticipated to boost energy ties between the two countries and attract foreign investment.

Syria’s Deputy Energy Minister for Oil Affairs, Ghiath Diab, said that pumping stations along the pipeline are mostly destroyed and need extensive repairs.

The repairs include upgrading pipes, storage tanks, pumps, electrical systems, and civil engineering, according to Diab.

Renovating the old line while creating a new one will increase the project’s economic feasibility, according to the Syrian official.

Damascus and Baghdad are advancing efforts to rehabilitate the pipeline, which aims to give Iraq direct access to European markets via the Mediterranean.