According to WPB, Iraq has planned the construction of a new oil export pipeline to Oman, a strategic initiative to diversify crude outlets and de-throttle reliance on long-established Middle East outlets. As the second-largest OPEC producer, the country regards the project as the cornerstone of its long-term energy strategy.
Iraqi State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) officials confirmed that Baghdad and Muscat have a preliminary agreement to build a pipeline from Iraqi fields to Oman's Duqm port on the Gulf of Oman. While the exact route of this line has yet to be determined, two options are still being considered: a subsea line across the Gulf or an overland route, involving cooperation and transit agreements with neighboring nations.
A part of the initial stage of the project, the two signatories have agreed to build storage tanks at Duqm with a capacity to hold 10 million barrels of crude oil, and expansion potential for additional capacity in the future. In the interim, until the pipeline becomes functional, Iraq will rely on sea-borne shipments to ship crude to the storage facilities.
The new cooperation between Iraq and Oman was emphasized with a recent top-level visit by Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani to the Sultanate, where he met with Sultan Haitham bin Tarik. The visit culminated in the signing of a number of agreements in economic and energy sectors, further tightening bilateral ties.
Today, the vast majority of Iraq's oil production flows through Basra, a southern port on the Persian Gulf. Deliveries from northern fields, however, particularly in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region, are halted, pending a resolution to a disagreement over export rights that cut off shipments to Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan two years ago.
Besides regional efforts, SOMO also announced that negotiations are already under way with major multinational companies, including Exxon, to explore the potential of building storage centers near global demand hotspots in Asia, Europe, and North America. This follows Iraq's broader strategy of not just expanding export markets but also enhancing its capacity for production to over six million barrels a day by the end of this decade, from approximately 4.5 million barrels a day at present.
This new strategy demonstrates Iraq's resolve to build a more stable position in global energy markets by diversifying infrastructure and alliances beyond its immediate neighborhood.
By WPB
Crude, Oil, Petroleum, Bitumen
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