The deals include rebuilding the long-defunct Iraq-Syria crude oil pipeline, which could bypass the Strait of Hormuz. Deal with Chevron aims to rebuild a crude oil pipeline that runs from Iraq's oil-rich Kirkuk to Syria's Baniyas. Iraq and Syria sign deal to rehabilitate Mediterranean pipeline, bypass Strait of Hormuz Iraq and Syria have signed a cooperation agreement to reconstruct a pipeline running from Iraqi oil fields to Syria’s Mediterranean coast, as part of a US-brokered deal to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.
Middle East Eye was the first to reveal that the US was brokering efforts to rehabilitate the Kirkuk-Baniyas oil pipeline, with US ambassador to Turkey and Syria envoy Tom Barrack taking the lead. After MEE's exclusive, Bloomberg, Reuters, The Wall Street Journal, and The Financial Times reported on the expected deal. The agreement was signed during the US-Iraq Business Council meeting in Washington, DC, by Bassem Abdul Karim Nasr, head of the Basra Oil Company, on behalf of Iraq; and Youssef Qablawi, CEO of the Syrian Petroleum Company, on behalf of Syria.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright oversaw the signing. The US State Department described the pipeline’s renewal as a “priority infrastructure project of bilateral and regional strategic significance”. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); "The United States welcomes the engagement of a US-led international consortium to execute the technical and financial aspects of this project," the department said in a statement.
The project is notable because the US is trying to deepen ties between Baghdad and Damascus to reduce Iran's influence in the region and its control over global energy flows in the Gulf. The project was one of several unveiled during Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi's visit to the US this week, where he met President Donald Trump at the White House. A senior Iraqi official told MEE that Barrack has developed a good working relationship with Zaidi a…
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