Ankara seeks a new pipeline agreement with Iraq.

Arabian Sea - Exclusive

(Arabian Gulf) Reuters Reuters quoted a senior Turkish official as saying that Ankara wants to negotiate a new agreement with Iraq to resume operations of an oil pipeline between the two countries after it was halted during a dispute over unauthorized Iraqi exports. Turkey stated in a decision published in the Turkish Official Gazette on Monday that work on the current oil pipeline agreement between Turkey and Iraq, which dates back to the 1970s, and all protocols or memoranda attached to it will cease on July 27, 2026. Iraq and Turkey are working to resume oil flows from a pipeline extending to the Turkish port of Ceyhan. Turkey halted flows in March 2023 after the International Chamber of Commerce ordered Ankara to pay Baghdad $1.5 billion in compensation for unauthorized exports from 2014 to 2018. Turkey has challenged the International Chamber of Commerce ruling. Turkey has announced its readiness to resume operations, but related talks hit a snag in March over payments and contracts. The Turkish official told Reuters that the pipeline has the potential to become "very effective and strategic in the region." He added that Turkey has invested heavily in maintaining the pipeline, pointing to its importance for regional projects such as the Development Road, a planned trade corridor that will include Turkey and Iraq. The official added, "A new and active phase of the Iraqi-Turkish pipeline will benefit both countries and the region as a whole," but he did not clarify what Ankara wants the new agreement to include. There has been no official comment from the Iraqi government on the Reuters report.