By Yesar Al-Maleki, for the Institute of Regional and International Studies (IRIS) at the American University of Iraq, Sulaimani (AUIS). The opinions expressed are those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.
Rebuilding Resilience: The Iraq-Türkiye Pipeline's Role in Iraq's Oil Export Security
The resumption of Kurdish crude exports to Türkiye on 27 September 2025 marks the end of a two-and-a-half-year suspension that severed Iraq's pipeline access to European markets. The Iraq-Türkiye Pipeline (ITP) went offline in April 2023 when Baghdad largely prevailed in an arbitration case against Ankara for allowing independent Kurdish oil exports between 2014 and 2018.
Flows to the Ceyhan terminal have now resumed under a trilateral arrangement between the federal government, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), and international oil companies operating in the Kurdistan Region, with Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) assuming full control of sales.
This development is of critical importance to Baghdad. The treaty governing the ITP was originally signed in 1973, last renewed in 2010, and expires in July 2026. Ankara has informed Baghdad of its wish not to renew the agreement. Türkiye has long argued that the treaty constrained its ability to include other users and that Iraq has historically underutilized the pipeline. With Baghdad now overseeing all exports through Ceyhan, Iraq aims to demonstrate continuity of flows and strengthen its hand as negotiations to renew the agreement begin.
For Iraq, securing the ITP's future is not merely a commercial priority but a strategic necessity. Although redirecting crude from its southern oil heartland to the ITP presents technical challenges, the route, which currently only carries oil produced in the Kurdistan Region, remains the only operational alternative to Iraq's Gulf export terminals at Basra.
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