Oil companies propose three urgent alternatives to compensate for the decline in exports.
Oil companies propose three urgent alternatives to compensate for the decline in exports.
3-12-2026
The Ministry of Oil revealed on Thursday that it has proposed three urgent alternatives to ensure the continued export of crude oil and mitigate the impact of any disruptions to traditional export routes. The
Undersecretary of the Ministry of Oil for Extraction Affairs, Basim Mohammed Khudair, stated in a statement reported by Al-Maalomah News Agency that “the Ministry is working on several immediate options to export quantities of crude oil in order to reduce potential losses resulting from the disruption of some export routes.”
Khudair added that “the export terminals in Basra remain ready to receive oil tankers that have export quotas from the Iraqi Oil Marketing Company (SOMO),” indicating that “the government is also considering increasing export rates in the near term to ensure the continued flow of financial revenues to support the general budget.”
Khodair explained that “one of the currently available alternatives is to use the export pipeline in the Kurdistan Region, which extends towards Turkey and is operated by a consortium of the Kurdish company KAR and a Russian company.” He noted that “this pipeline is technically ready to resume exports of oil produced by the North Oil Company at a rate of approximately 150,000 barrels per day.”
He clarified that “these quantities can be supplied to local refineries from the production of the southern fields by transporting the oil through the strategic pipeline linking Basra and Kirkuk, or by tankers towards Turkey. This mechanism is currently under study by the relevant departments in the Ministry.”
Khodair added that “another option is to sell quantities of crude oil through intermediaries and investors, similar to the mechanism for marketing heavy fuel oil, through SOMO, with the aim of facilitating the sale of some quantities in global markets.”
He pointed out that “the ministry is considering expediting the awarding of the contract for the new strategic pipeline linking Basra and Haditha, as part of a package of options aimed at enhancing the flexibility of the oil transportation system within the country and providing alternative outlets in emergency situations.”
The undersecretary affirmed that “the southern fields and production lines in Basra are still capable of exporting as soon as tankers become available and navigation returns to normal,” noting at the same time “the readiness of the North Oil Company’s production for export via the Ceyhan port, which was also recently closed for precautionary security reasons.”
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