Syria and Iraq signed two memoranda of understanding in Washington to revive the Kirkuk-Banias oil pipeline, resume pumping two million barrels per day and enhance Syria's position as a regional energy corridor.
In a strategic move to enhance regional cooperation, the Syrian Arab Republic and the Republic of Iraq signed two memoranda of understanding to revive the Iraqi-Syrian pipeline project, during meetings held in the United States of America in the presence of the Iraqi Prime Minister, the US Secretary of Energy and a number of senior officials.
The first memorandum, signed by the Syrian Petroleum Company, represented by its CEO Youssef Qablawi, and the Basra Oil Company, represented by its Chairman Bassem Abdul Karim Nasser, includes the rehabilitation and revitalization of the Haditha-Banias pipeline, historically linked to the Kirkuk-Banias pipeline. This step aims to restore a vital corridor for transporting Iraqi oil to Syrian export terminals on the Mediterranean Sea.
The second memorandum includes cooperation between the Syrian Petroleum Company and an international consortium comprising Chevron, UCC Holding and TI Capital, to begin preparing the necessary technical and financial studies, and laying the executive foundations for the rehabilitation of the pipeline and associated facilities in accordance with the approved standards, in preparation for the implementation phases.
In this context, Syrian Energy Minister Mohammed al-Bashir stressed that this signing is "a strategic step to restart one of the most important oil pipelines in the region, and to enhance Syria's position as a regional energy corridor."
The rehabilitation work aims to achieve an operational capacity of approximately two million barrels of crude oil per day, which will contribute to opening new horizons for economic and investment integration, support energy security, and enhance Syria’s pivotal role in the regional energy transmission system towards the Mediterranean.
