Iraq Aims to Double Crude Oil Flows through Kirkuk-Ceyhan Pipeline

Iraq aims to more than double crude oil flows through the newly reopened Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline by next year, said an official at Iraqi state oil marketer SOMO.

The reopening of the pipeline comes against a backdrop of rising global supplies as OPEC+ producers boost output to gain market share. Iraq, meanwhile, has come under U.S. pressure to resume the Kurdish oil flows as U.S. President Donald Trump seeks to cut Iranian oil exports to zero under a maximum pressure campaign against Tehran.

SOMO is aiming for 400,000 to 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) by 2026, Rikan Kareem said at a conference in London. Pipeline flows were running at 150,000-160,000 bpd late last month.

Companies who are owed oil under previous prepayment deals with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) – which is no longer marketing the crude after SOMO took over – will be given priority for cargo allocations, Kareem said.

Oil tanker Vallesina has been booked to load 700,000 barrels of Iraqi Kurdistan crude oil at Turkey’s Ceyhan port on October 2, two industry sources said.

It will be the first tanker to load Iraqi Kurdistan crude since the resumption of flows from Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region to Turkey, the sources said.