Iraq Restarts Kirkuk Oil Exports via Türkiye

(MENAFN) Iraq’s North Oil Company announced on Wednesday that it has recommenced oil shipments through Türkiye’s Ceyhan port, resuming crude flows from the Kirkuk fields following almost three years of suspension.

According to a statement published by a state news agency, operations restarted at the Saralo pumping station, with an initial export rate of 250,000 barrels per day.

This action comes after an accord between Iraq’s federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to reopen a vital export channel and bolster Iraq’s overall oil export framework, the report noted.

The KRG confirmed on Tuesday that it had reached an agreement with Baghdad to restart oil exports via the northern route to Türkiye’s Ceyhan port.

The timing of this development is significant, as the Strait of Hormuz has recently been a focal point of global energy tensions. The area’s strategic passage was restricted to most vessels by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, in response to US-Israeli operations that have caused around 1,300 deaths in Iran since Feb. 28.

Prior to these disruptions, roughly 20 million barrels of oil transited the strait each day. The blockade has contributed to a surge in global oil prices.

Earlier, Iraq’s Oil Ministry stated that it was prepared to resume crude exports through the northern pipeline to Ceyhan Port, compensating for interruptions in southern export routes caused by the Strait of Hormuz crisis.

MENAFN18032026000045017167ID1110877153