Qatar’s UCC in talks to build Iraq oil pipelines
- Chevron and TotalEnergies join
- Routes via Turkey and Syria
- Hormuz alternatives take time
Qatar’s UCC Holding is in talks with the Iraqi government to develop an oil pipeline that Baghdad hopes will reduce its heavy reliance on the Strait of Hormuz.
The company is leading a consortium that includes Chevron and TI Capital of the US and France’s TotalEnergies, selected by Iraq to build pipelines to nearby Turkey and Syria.
UCC executives met Iraq’s oil minister, Bassim Khudair, in Baghdad on Tuesday. The meeting focused on the Basra-Haditha-Fishkhabur and Haditha-Baniyas pipelines, including the type of contract, project duration and other technical matters, the oil ministry said in a statement.
“The minister emphasised the need to expedite the contracting procedures and overcome all obstacles, noting that weekly meetings would be held between the relevant parties from both sides to finalise the economic model and pipeline route.”
The scheme involves building a pipeline from the southern oil centre of Basra to Haditha in the western Al-Anbar province, before extending it to Kirkuk, Ceyhan and Fishkhabur in Turkey. Another project involves building a pipeline from Haditha to the western Syrian port of Baniyas on the Mediterranean.
Further reading:
Iraq and other regional oil producers are scrambling to extend, expand and build their own pipelines to protect themselves from long-term disruption to Hormuz traffic, according to analysts.
But pipelines are huge infrastructure projects that usually take years to come to fruition. They typically cost billions of dollars and, if they cross borders, require close co-operation with one or more foreign governments.
Iraq, Opec’s second-largest oil producer, exports more than 200,000 barrels per day via the northern Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline.