Iraq, Syria discuss revival of Banias pipeline for oil exports
BAGHDAD (AGENCIES)Iraq and Syria have agreed to study the possibility of reactivating the Banias pipeline to export Iraqi oil through Syrian territory.The agreement was reached during talks held Tuesday in Baghdad between Hayan Abdul-Ghani Al-Sawad, Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs and Minister of Oil of Iraq, and Mohammed Bashir, Minister of Energy of Syria.The discussions resulted in a decision to form a joint committee to examine the condition of the pipeline and assess the feasibility of resuming exports through it, with a proposal to engage an international consultant to determine the pipeline's operational readiness, pumping systems, and the viability of rehabilitation.According to a statement by the Ministry of Oil, carried by the Iraqi News Agency, Al Sawad said that Iraq has achieved significant progress in gas investment and oil refining, and aims to increase export capacities from its southern outlets, resume exports through the Turkish pipeline via the port of Ceyhan, and study proposals for exports via the Syrian Banias pipeline and Lebanon's Tripoli pipeline.The Iraqi minister also referred to the Basra–Haditha pipeline project, stating that it will have a capacity of 2.25 million barrels, and will secure export volumes through the Syrian pipeline.
Iraq earlier dispatched a high-level delegation to Damascus in April to assess the feasibility of reviving the Iraq-Syria oil pipeline, a move Baghdad is counting on to diversify export routes amid expanding production capacity.
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