Iraq to reuse Syrian port to export oil across the Mediterranean
Vessels at the northwestern Syrian port of Baniyas. Photo: Tasnim News Agency
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The spokesperson of the Iraqi government, Basim Al-Awadi, confirmed on Monday that Iraq is considering reusing oil pipelines linking oilfields in Kirkuk with the port of Baniyas in Syria to export oil through the Mediterranean Sea, according to the Iraqi News Agency (INA).
Al-Awadi indicated that Iraq rejects the economic sanctions imposed on Syria, which increase regional destabilization, and is working to help Syria boost its economy.
The Iraqi official illustrated that Iraq is looking for new outlets to export oil, expecting that the government is ready to discuss with the Syrian side reusing the oil pipeline to export oil through the port of Baniyas on the Mediterranean Sea.
The improvement of economic conditions in Syria will provide Iraq with new opportunities to export its crude oil and deliver it quickly to buyers in Europe through the Mediterranean Sea.
The pipeline connecting Kirkuk’s oilfields with the northwestern Syrian port of Baniyas was operational for many years before it was badly damaged during the US invasion of Iraq in 2003.
In 2007, Iraq and Syria agreed to rebuild the pipeline, but a contract awarded to Stroytransgas, a subsidiary of the Russian Gasprom group, was cancelled in 2009 due to high costs and other reasons, Zawya News reported.