Turkiye, Iraq to sign 12-month extension of oil pipeline deal

ISTANBUL: Turkiye and Iraq are set to sign, within days, a ​one-year agreement to keep open the crude oil pipeline between the two countries, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on Thursday.
Their decades-old pipeline agreement, which governs exports through the pipeline, is due to expire ‌on July ‌27.
“We have brought ​the ‌agreement ⁠that ​will cover ⁠the next 12 months to the final stage. We aim to sign it in the coming days,” Bayraktar, who was in Baghdad for an official visit, said in a ⁠statement, adding that oil ‌flow from ‌Iraq to Turkiye’s port of ​Ceyhan on the ‌eastern Mediterranean coast will continue.
The ‌pipeline had remained offline for 2-1/2 years after an arbitration court ruled for Ankara to pay $1.5 billion in damages for ‌unauthorized Iraqi exports Turkiye received between 2014 and 2018.
Flows ⁠resumed ⁠late last year. In an earlier post on X, Bayraktar said he had a fruitful meeting with Iraq Oil Minister Basim Mohammed, during which they discussed oil and gas cooperation. Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi also met with Bayraktar during his visit, according to his office.