MONTREAL (Oil Monster): Iraq is moving to expand its crude oil export network after shipments recovered to approximately 2.7 million barrels per day, with Baghdad targeting substantially higher flows through the Iraq-Türkiye Pipeline and advancing new routes toward the Mediterranean.
Iraqi Oil Ministry spokesperson Salim Al-Rikabi said crude exports have rebounded from approximately 200,000 bpd in May despite continuing disruption around the Strait of Hormuz.
The ministry now wants to increase exports through both southern and northern outlets, including raising Iraq-Türkiye Pipeline flows from around 300,000 bpd toward approximately 700,000 bpd.
Iraq's Oil Ministry said the country is currently exporting approximately 2.7 million barrels of crude oil per day.
That represents a sharp recovery from May, when export volumes had fallen to roughly 200,000 bpd amid severe disruption to regional energy flows.
Al-Rikabi said the ministry is working to maintain the recovered volumes while continuing to increase shipments despite uncertainty surrounding the Strait of Hormuz.
The majority of Iraq's crude continues to leave through southern export outlets connected to the Gulf.
Recent ministry figures indicate southern shipments account for roughly 2.4 million bpd of the country's current export total.
That continued dependence on southern terminals leaves Iraq highly exposed to security and shipping conditions around the Strait of Hormuz.
The recovery in exports has therefore not eliminated Baghdad's strategic need for additional routes outside the Gulf.
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Exports through Iraq's northern outlets currently total approximately 300,000 bpd, according to the Oil Ministry.
Those volumes include crude moved through the Iraq-Türkiye Pipeline as well as oil originating from Kirkuk and the Kurdistan Region and some barrels transported by tanker truck.
Baghdad wants to increase both pipeline flows and road transportation toward northern export infrastructure.
The Iraq-Türkiye Pipeline has become central to Baghdad's effort to diversify export routes.
Al-Rikabi said current exports through the pipeline are approximately 300,000 bpd, while the ministry is targeting around 700,000 bpd.
The pipeline connects northern Iraqi production with Türkiye's Mediterranean export terminal at Ceyhan, allowing crude to reach international markets without passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
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The Iraqi Oil Ministry said the pipeline system has a design capacity of approximately 1.5 million bpd.
Under the provisional arrangement between Iraq and Türkiye, the minimum available capacity is approximately 750,000 bpd.
Iraq's current objective of around 700,000 bpd would therefore bring actual flows much closer to the level contemplated under the bilateral agreement.
The ministry said greater use of the pipeline would increase export capacity while providing Iraqi crude with additional access to international markets.
Iraq and Türkiye moved earlier this year to extend the agreement governing crude transportation through the cross-border pipeline.
The one-year arrangement was designed to maintain flows while the two governments work toward a broader long-term framework.
Officials have previously indicated that future agreements could support export capacity exceeding 1 million bpd as additional Iraqi infrastructure is completed.
Iraq has also experimented with road transportation to increase the amount of southern crude that can reach northern export infrastructure.
In September, Baghdad launched a pilot operation moving oil from southern fields by tanker truck to storage facilities in Kirkuk.
The trial used more than 200 trucks and moved approximately 38,000 barrels over two days.
The program is much smaller than pipeline transportation but provides another emergency option when traditional Gulf export routes are constrained.
The Türkiye pipeline is only one part of Iraq's longer-term diversification program.
The Oil Ministry is advancing plans for a wider pipeline system linking Basra with Haditha before branching north and west toward Mediterranean export outlets.
The ministry currently refers to the proposed routes as the Basra-Haditha-Fishkhabur corridor and the Basra-Haditha-Baniyas corridor.
The objective is to create multiple export options rather than relying overwhelmingly on southern terminals and Hormuz.
Recent planning work cited by the Iraqi News Agency describes a proposed cross-border network capable of carrying approximately 2 million barrels per day.
The project would use a large-diameter pipeline between Basra and Haditha before dividing into two branches.
One branch would extend toward Baniyas on Syria's Mediterranean coast with planned capacity of approximately 1 million bpd.
The second would connect toward Fishkhabur and the Iraq-Türkiye system, also with planned capacity of approximately 1 million bpd.
Feasibility studies, route planning and cost estimates are still being prepared, meaning those capacities should be treated as project targets rather than operating volumes.
Iraq's cabinet approved preliminary agreements in July allowing Basra Oil Company to work with an international consortium on strategic export-pipeline studies.
The consortium includes U.S. companies Chevron and Capital TI along with Qatar's UCC.
The feasibility work has examined routes connecting Basra and Haditha with northern Türkiye-linked infrastructure and Baniyas in Syria.
The preliminary agreements do not themselves create final financial or construction commitments for Iraq's Oil Ministry.
Iraq's cabinet also authorized Basra Oil Company to sign a consultancy-services contract with KBR covering the Basra-Haditha pipeline project.
The Basra-Haditha section would form the backbone of the wider export network, moving southern Iraqi crude inland before directing it toward alternative Mediterranean corridors.
The project is intended to serve both export requirements and domestic refinery supply.
Iraq is simultaneously negotiating a shorter-term crude transportation arrangement with Syria.
The proposed plan would initially move crude by truck to Baniyas, where oil could be stored before loading onto Mediterranean tankers.
That road-based option would carry only a fraction of Iraq's total exports but could establish a logistics corridor while larger pipeline plans advance.
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Iraq's dependence on southern Gulf export terminals became a major vulnerability during the 2026 regional conflict.
Export volumes collapsed as tanker movements through Hormuz were severely disrupted.
Although shipping has since recovered substantially, repeated tanker attacks and elevated freight and insurance costs have reinforced the need for permanent alternatives.
The strategic issue for Baghdad is therefore not simply increasing total export capacity, but ensuring that Iraqi crude can reach international buyers even when one export corridor becomes unavailable.
Iraq's return toward higher export volumes has been supported by aggressive crude pricing and stronger demand from international buyers.
OilMonster previously reported that buyers including ADNOC, Vitol and several Asian refiners increased purchases of Iraqi crude as Baghdad offered substantial discounts to compensate for elevated security, freight and insurance costs.
The discounts helped restore physical exports but reduced the value captured on some cargoes.
Additional pipeline access could improve Iraq's bargaining position by reducing dependence on higher-risk Gulf shipping.
The latest official ministry figure places Iraqi crude exports at approximately 2.7 million bpd.
Other market estimates have at times placed exports closer to 3 million bpd during recent weeks.
The difference can reflect measurement periods, loading schedules and whether estimates are based on tanker tracking or government reporting.
For the current article, the 2.7-million-bpd figure is the appropriate benchmark because it is the latest figure directly stated by Iraq's Oil Ministry.
Iraq's near-term priority is increasing utilization of the Iraq-Türkiye Pipeline toward roughly 700,000 bpd while maintaining recovered southern export volumes.
Baghdad is also expected to continue expanding truck movements toward northern infrastructure and negotiating access through Syria.
Longer term, the most important development will be whether the proposed Basra-Haditha pipeline network advances from feasibility studies into financing, contracting and construction.
A functioning Mediterranean export network capable of carrying millions of barrels per day would fundamentally reduce Iraq's dependence on the Strait of Hormuz.
How much crude oil is Iraq currently exporting?
Iraq's Oil Ministry says crude exports have reached approximately 2.7 million barrels per day.
How low did Iraqi exports fall in 2026?
The ministry says exports dropped to around 200,000 bpd in May during severe disruption around the Strait of Hormuz.
How much oil currently moves through the Iraq-Türkiye Pipeline?
The Oil Ministry says current pipeline exports are about 300,000 bpd.
What is Iraq's target for the Türkiye pipeline?
Baghdad is working to increase flows to approximately 700,000 bpd.
What is the pipeline's full design capacity?
The Iraq-Türkiye system has stated design capacity of up to approximately 1.5 million bpd.
What new pipeline routes is Iraq planning?
Iraq is advancing plans for routes from Basra through Haditha toward Fishkhabur and Türkiye, as well as a western branch toward Baniyas on Syria's Mediterranean coast.
How much could the new strategic pipeline system carry?
Recent Iraqi planning work describes a system totaling approximately 2 million bpd, divided between two proposed 1-million-bpd branches. These are planned capacities and the projects remain under study.
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Sources: Iraqi Ministry of Oil; Iraqi News Agency; Reuters.
