Iraq, Turkey extend crude oil transfer agreement for 15 years

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraq and Turkey on Sunday signed agreed to extend a deal to transfer crude oil via the pipelines system for 15 years with amounts more than one million barrels per day (bpd). “The Iraqi oil ministry signed on today (Sept. 19) an agreement to extend the deal to export Iraqi crude oil to the Mediterranean countries via Turkey. The extension span is 15 years and envisages the export of more than one million bpd,” Minister Hussein al-Shahrestani told IraqiNews.com news agency during the signing ceremony. Iraq exports part of its crude oil through the Iraqi-Turkish pipeline that stretches from the oilfields in Kirkuk to the Turkish port of Ceyhan in the area of Mardin, 100 km north of the Iraqi-Turkish borders. Some 400,000 to 700,000 bpd are exported via this pipeline. “The Iraqi-Turkish pipeline, inaugurated in 1973, is one of the key and old outlets to export Iraqi crude,” said Shahrestani, adding the current exported amount is ranging between 400,000 and 500,000 bpd, hopefully to grow to more than one million bpd during the next few years. For his part, Turkish Minister of Energy & Natural Resources Taner Yildiz said the Iraqi-Turkish export pipeline enjoys special interest and posture in Turkey both at the economic and political levels. “The pipeline would open the more vistas for several future cooperation projects to boost relations between the two countries,” Yildiz added in a speech during the signing ceremony. AmR (S) 1