Turkey pipeline deal sets challenging target for Iraqi oil exports

Iraq has loaded its first tanker of crude from Turkey’s Ceyhan port under a new agreement signed Aug. 1 to keep northern pipeline exports flowing after the expiration of a bilateral treaty governing the Iraq-Turkey Pipeline (ITP).

The tanker Valpiave sailed Aug. 3 carrying just over 600,000 barrels, according to Ceyhan export data seen by Iraq Oil Report, marking the first cargo to load since the July 27 expiration of the ITP treaty. The same day, Iraq’s oil marketing company, SOMO, delivered another 250,000 barrels by pipeline from its Ceyhan storage tanks to the Turkish refiner Tupras, the first such transfer since mid-July.