Turkey and Iraq sign one-year oil pipeline deal to transport 750,000 barrels daily, amid Strait of Hormuz disruptions

Turkey and Iraq have signed a one-year interim agreement to keep the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline operational, targeting a daily transit capacity of 750,000 barrels of crude oil. Signed by BOTAS, SOMO, and NOC, the deal replaces a 53-year-old agreement that expired on July 27, 2026. The move provides Iraq with a critical Mediterranean export route, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz, which has been severely disrupted by the U.S.-Iran war. The pipeline currently carries only 170,000 barrels per day, but both nations are negotiating a broader long-term energy framework.

Iraq-Turkey pipeline extension agreement

• ▪The interim agreement replaces a decades-old bilateral arrangement that expired on July 27, 2026.
• ▪Turkey and Iraq signed a one-year agreement on August 1, 2026, to keep the Kirkuk-Ceyhan crude oil pipeline operating.
• ▪The agreement was signed in Ankara by Turkey's state energy company BOTAS and Iraq's state-owned firms SOMO and NOC.

Pipeline capacity targets

• ▪The Iraq-Turkey pipeline has a maximum theoretical transit capacity of approximately 1.5 million barrels per day.
• ▪The interim agreement sets a daily transit capacity target of 750,000 barrels of crude oil through the pipeline.

Current flow levels

• ▪The Iraq-Turkey pipeline has been largely idle since 2023 following legal and commercial disputes over exports from Iraq's Kurdish region.
• ▪Turkish data indicates that the pipeline currently transports only about 170,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

Strait of Hormuz disruptions

• ▪Disruptions to Gulf shipping lanes caused Iraq's monthly oil revenues to fall from around $6 billion to under $2 billion.
• ▪The Strait of Hormuz was effectively closed earlier in 2026 following the outbreak of a U.S.-Iran war in February.

Future infrastructure expansion plans

• ▪Turkey and Iraq are studying plans to extend the pipeline network to transport crude oil from southern Iraqi oil fields.
• ▪Iraq is considering a pipeline project linking Basra to Haditha, and from there to Ceyhan in Turkey and Baniyas in Syria.