Iraq sets two-week timeline for Kirkuk-Ceyhan trial pumping

Shafaq News- Kirkuk

Trial pumping through the Kirkuk-Ceyhan oil route will begin within two weeks after the state-run North Oil Company finalized all engineering and technical work needed to restart the Iraq-Turkiye pipeline, a senior company source told Shafaq News on Wednesday, paving the way for the resumption of stable exports.

The company has also restored the strategic Kirkuk-Baiji-Haditha-Basra route, allowing crude from southern fields to reach gathering stations in Kirkuk before being pumped to the Turkish port of Ceyhan. Operating the two lines together would provide greater flexibility in managing crude flows, strengthen Iraq's northern export capacity, and improve the efficiency of the country's oil transport network, the source added.

Earlier this month, SOMO chief Ali Nizar told Reuters that Iraq had formally requested a one-year extension of the agreement governing the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline, which is due to expire on July 27, to allow more time for negotiations on a new export arrangement. Reuters, citing a senior Turkish official, reported that Ankara opposes extending the current deal under existing conditions.

Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently discussed exports through the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline and ways to boost Iraq's oil flows to European markets through existing infrastructure.