Iraq accelerates northern export pipeline repairs amid Hormuz crisis

2026-03-28 - 23:01

Shafaq News- Saladin Rehabilitation work on the northern export pipeline —part of the Iraq-Turkiye crude oil pipeline connecting Kirkuk to Ceyhan— is advancing around the clock in Saladin province, a senior official at the state-run Oil Projects Company confirmed on Saturday. Work is ongoing in three daily shifts, 24 hours a day, the official told Shafaq News, with crews conducting hydrostatic testing on the main pipeline and the connected 32-node feeder line. "Completion rates are tracking the defined timetables," the official said, adding that any challenges and obstacles are being addressed immediately to keep work moving. Hadeer Jaloub, assistant director general of geographic bodies at the company, visited Saladin province to inspect the project's final phases. The head of the Northern Projects Authority and site directors also attended a project management meeting to review progress. The Iraq-Turkiye Crude Oil Pipeline runs approximately 970 kilometers from the Kirkuk fields in northern Iraq to the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. The line has been largely idle since 2014 following repeated attacks by armed groups. As of 18 March, Iraq was pumping 250,000 barrels per day through the route after a Baghdad-Erbil agreement unlocked the northern corridor. The push to complete rehabilitation comes as Iraq's southern export infrastructure has been effectively paralysed due to the ongoing US-Israel-Iran war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Oil officials said the Production from the country's main southern oilfields has fallen to approximately 800,000 barrels per day, down from 4.3 million barrels per day before the conflict. Storage tanks have reached critical capacity, and southern exports have come to a near-complete halt, with tankers unable to reach Iraq's Gulf terminals. Oil Minister Hayan Abdul Ghani said on 9 March that the government is "studying several alternatives to ensure continued crude exports through more secure routes," confirming that domestic refineries across the southern, central, and northern regions are operating at full capacity to meet local demand.