Turkey and Iraq have signed a significant agreement deepening their energy cooperation. The annual contract between the two countries covers the transportation of 750,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
The agreement was finalized following a meeting in Ankara between Turkey's Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar and Iraq's Oil Minister Basim Muhammed Hudeyr. The contract, signed between BOTAŞ and Iraqi state companies SOMO and NOC, was inked by BOTAŞ General Manager Abdulvahit Fidan, SOMO General Manager Ali Nizar Al-Şatri, and NOC General Manager Faysal Hammadi Ramazan.
Minister Bayraktar stressed that this step, taken after discussions between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Zeydi, carries historic importance. He noted that the Iraq-Turkey Oil Pipeline, which has been in service for nearly half a century, contributes not only to bilateral trade but also to global market stability.
"This oil pipeline is extremely important as it provides an alternative route when one considers the crisis in Hormuz and the 20 million barrels of oil virtually stuck in the Persian Gulf," Bayraktar said, adding that Turkey aims to utilize the pipeline's full capacity of 1.5 million barrels per day.
Plans are underway to transport not only Iraqi oil but also oil from Kuwait and other Gulf countries to global markets via this route in the future. Noting that Turkey's refineries were designed years ago to process this region's oil, Bayraktar said that Iraqi and Kirkuk crude are among the most widely used types at these facilities.
The project covers the Baba and Avana fields in Kirkuk, one of Iraq's key hydrocarbon production regions, as well as the Bay Hasan, Cambur, and Habbaz fields. The contract area is estimated to hold over 3 billion barrels of oil equivalent in hydrocarbon reserves.
Prior to these developments, on July 9, Minister Bayraktar met with Iraqi Prime Minister Zeydi in Baghdad, and on July 28, Zeydi paid an official visit to Turkey. On the same day, TPAO acquired a 15 percent stake in bp's operations in Kirkuk.
