Turkey seeks to expand energy agreement with Iraq
The official's statements took place after Ankara announced on Monday that the long-running oil pipeline arrangement with Iraq, reached in 1973, will be terminated in 2026.
The Iraqi Oil Ministry is evaluating the Turkish proposal to establish a mutually beneficial deal, according to the Iraqi official.
According to a presidential decree issued by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the initial agreement, established in July 1973, will expire on July 27, 2026, together with any relevant protocols, annexes, and extensions.
The 1973 agreement paved the way for the Iraq-Turkey crude oil pipeline. This critical infrastructure project enabled the transit of millions of barrels of Iraqi oil to the Turkish port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean.
This legal framework later played an important role in arbitration procedures sparked by the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) oil exports through the pipeline.
The KRG began exporting oil unilaterally through the pipeline, provoking the federal government in Baghdad to file an arbitration lawsuit against Turkey in 2014. Baghdad claimed that the KRG's oil exports through the pipeline violated Iraq's constitution.
Crude oil supplies over the Iraq-Turkey pipeline, which handled around 0.5 percent of the world's oil supply, have been discontinued since March 2023.
After the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris determined that Ankara had broken a 1973 convention by allowing oil exports without the permission of Baghdad, oil flows via the Iraq-Turkey oil pipeline were halted.
Efforts to restore oil exports have accelerated in 2025, with the Iraqi government approving a new oil agreement between Baghdad and the KRG in July.
With the 1973 agreement set to expire in 2026, Ankara and Baghdad are now working on an updated legislative structure for energy cooperation.
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