Iraq to resume oil exports via Türkiye’s Ceyhan Port

August 7, 2025 (MLN): Iraq revealed its plans to resume oil exports through Türkiye’s Ceyhan Port within a day or two, following a two-year hiatus.

Speaking at a press conference in the northern city of Kirkuk, Iraqi Oil Minister Hayan Abdul-Ghani stated that production from operational oil fields in Iraqi Kurdistan has reached 130,000 barrels per day (bpd), of which 50,000 bpd are used for local consumption.

He confirmed an agreement with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to deliver the remaining 80,000 bpd for export via the Ceyhan Port.

The Iraqi state news agency INA also reported that Abdul-Ghani expects the Ceyhan pipeline to resume operations later today or by Thursday.

He noted that “80,000 barrels per day will be exported via Turkey’s Ceyhan pipeline through SOMO,” Iraq’s state-owned oil marketer, as Reuters reported.

The Kirkuk–Ceyhan pipeline has been offline since 2023 after an arbitration court ordered Turkey to pay $1.5 billion in damages for unauthorized oil exports conducted between 2014 and 2018.

While Baghdad and the KRG reached an agreement last month to reopen the pipeline, outstanding negotiations with international oil companies operating in the Kurdistan region remain unresolved.

Four industry sources familiar with the matter expressed skepticism over an imminent restart, stating that a deal with these producers has not yet been reached.

The companies have been demanding compensation for losses incurred during the pipeline shutdown.

According to two of the sources, talks are ongoing but have yet to yield a final agreement.

Previously, the pipeline transported around 450,000 bpd of Iraqi oil, including 370,000 bpd of KRG crude.

The pipeline connects oil fields in Kirkuk, northern Iraq, to the Turkish port of Ceyhan.

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