Iraq and Syria hire consultant to assess revival of Kirkuk-Baniyas oil pipeline

SEATTLE (Oil Monster):  Iraq and Syria have agreed to appoint an international consultant to assess the condition and feasibility of reopening the Kirkuk-Baniyas oil pipeline, a historic export route that has been idle for more than two decades. The decision marks a significant step toward re-establishing one of the Middle East’s oldest and most strategically important energy corridors.

The announcement comes after high-level meetings between the two countries.  Both sides agreed to form a joint technical committee that will work alongside the consultant to evaluate the pipeline’s operational readiness, pumping systems, and potential rehabilitation options.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said the study aims to determine whether the line – damaged during the 2003 conflict – can be restored to help diversify Iraq’s crude export routes. “Iraq and Syria have agreed to commission an assessment of the Kirkuk-Baniyas pipeline with a view to bringing it back online,” al-Sudani told Reuters.

A historic route of regional importance

Built in 1952, the Kirkuk-Baniyas pipeline once carried crude oil from Iraq’s northern fields to the Syrian port of Baniyas on the Mediterranean Sea, giving Iraq direct access to European markets. Spanning roughly 800 kilometres and with an original capacity of 300,000 barrels per day, it served as a vital export artery for decades before successive conflicts and political tensions rendered it inoperable.

Operations halted in 2003 following extensive damage during the US-led invasion of Iraq. Since then, numerous attempts to restart the line have faltered due to ageing infrastructure, security challenges, and shifting regional alliances.

Yet its strategic logic remains compelling: reviving the route would offer Iraq an alternative to the southern Gulf ports near the Strait of Hormuz – an area prone to geopolitical risk – and provide a shorter, cheaper path to Mediterranean buyers.

Strategic motivations and challenges

For Iraq, reopening the line aligns with a broader strategy to diversify export routes and expand capacity beyond its southern terminals and the suspended Iraq-Turkey pipeline to Ceyhan, closed since 2023 following arbitration disputes. Iraq’s energy leadership also views the Basra-Haditha pipeline project, currently under development, as a potential feeder to Syrian and Lebanese ports once operational.

For Syria, the pipeline could offer a modest but critical revenue stream to aid economic recovery and energy reconstruction. Its reactivation would also enhance Damascus’s role as a regional transit hub.

However, analysts caution that the project’s viability depends on significant financial, technical, and political conditions. Professor Hassan Hazouri of the University of Aleppo notes that successful rehabilitation would require “stable security guarantees, substantial investment from both nations and their partners, and assurances that sanctions will not restrict access to European buyers.”

Estimates suggest full restoration could cost up to $8 billion if capacity were expanded to 700,000 barrels per day, though a partial rebuild might be achievable at lower cost.

Courtesy: www.consultancy-me.com