Iraq Plans to Double Oil Exports Through Reopened Kirkuk-Ceyhan Pipeline

Iraq aims to more than double crude oil exports through the reopened Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline by next year, according to state oil marketer SOMO. The increase follows the resumption of Kurdish oil flows to Turkey and growing OPEC+ output competition.

(Reuters) — 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 on Tuesday at a conference in London. Pipeline flows were running at 150,000-160,000 bpd on Sept. 29 after reopening on Sept. 27.

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 on Sept. 30.

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 on Sept. 27, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.