Baghdad announces plan to decouple from the Strait of Hormuz: New export pipelines under construction
Baghdad announces plan to decouple from the Strait of Hormuz: New export pipelines under construction
2026-07-15
Shafaq News – Washington/ Mustafa Hashim
On Tuesday, Iraqi Oil Minister Bassem Mohammed Khudair revealed the outlines of his country’s new strategy to diversify oil and gas export outlets and develop infrastructure, while pointing to an alliance that includes American and Qatari companies to establish a new pipeline system, aimed at ending Iraq’s almost total dependence on the Strait of Hormuz outlet.
Khodair said in press statements he made from the Iraqi delegation’s residence in the American capital, Washington, that Iraq, with its enormous reserves, cannot remain dependent on a single export outlet, noting that financial and economic obstacles were what prevented the implementation of this vision previously.
The minister revealed the formation of a consortium comprising the American companies “TI Capital” and “Chevron”, along with the Qatari company “UCC”, with the anticipated participation of an Iraqi oil company as a partner in the project.
He explained that this consortium will undertake the implementation of a pipeline system extending from Basra to Fishkhabur to connect to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, with another branch extending from Haditha to the Syrian port of Banias, stressing that these projects will provide Iraq with “two additional lungs” for export in addition to the Strait of Hormuz.
In a related context, the Minister of Oil pointed to Baghdad’s efforts to develop and invest in the gas sector to secure the needs of the national electricity grids, citing the work underway in strategic gas fields such as the Akaz field, the Mansouriya field, and the Total project in the Artawi field, in addition to the projects of the fifth and sixth rounds for exploring gas blocks.
Khodair predicted that the next phase would witness a “major workshop” for the oil and electricity sectors with broad participation from American companies, describing the partnership between Iraq and the United States as one that would achieve the mutual interests of the two countries, expressing his gratitude to the American government for the warm reception and the understandings that took place regarding future issues.
He announced that Baghdad is conducting negotiations with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to raise Iraq’s export ceiling, calling on partners in the OPEC+ alliance to take into account the exceptional and historic circumstances that Iraq has gone through and that no other country has gone through.
According to Khodair, increasing the export ceiling is necessary to secure the financial returns needed for reconstruction and to improve the living conditions of citizens.
Commenting on the security concerns of some American investing companies, the minister stressed that Iraq has always been a stable and supportive environment for more than 15 to 20 major international companies such as BP, Eni and Chinese companies, adding that the recent war has temporarily affected exports and production volume.
Regarding the relationship with the Kurdistan Region and the companies operating there, Khudair revealed the signing of a tripartite agreement between the Ministry of Oil, the regional government, and the oil companies, which allows the export of oil exclusively through the Iraqi Oil Marketing Company “SOMO” and according to its established mechanisms.
He added that there are ongoing discussions with those companies to increase the production capacity of the region’s fields to raise export rates, announcing that the American company “HKN” intends to sign a contract soon with the Iraqi government regarding the Hamrin field, noting Baghdad’s full support for all investing companies, whether American or European.
shafaq.com
