ANKARA (Realist English). Turkey is pressing for full-scale utilisation of the Kirkuk-Ceyhan oil pipeline as a key condition in a new comprehensive energy agreement with Iraq, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said following a cabinet meeting, according to Zawya News Agency.
Ankara has submitted a proposal to Baghdad that includes “a mechanism to ensure full use of this pipeline,” Bayraktar told reporters. The pipeline, which has a capacity of 1.5 million barrels per day, has been idle since 2023. “There’s no flow at the moment. Even when it did flow, it was never at full capacity,” he noted.
The suspension followed an international arbitration ruling that ordered Turkey to pay $1.5 billion in damages for facilitating Iraqi Kurdish oil exports without Baghdad’s consent between 2014 and 2018. Turkey is appealing the verdict.
The existing pipeline agreement is due to expire in July 2026, and Ankara is seeking to broaden the deal. According to Zawya, the Turkish proposal includes expanded cooperation in oil, gas, petrochemicals, and electricity. An Iraqi official confirmed that the proposal has been received and is under review.
Bayraktar suggested that the pipeline could be extended into southern Iraq to maximise throughput. “It doesn’t have to be filled with oil from Iraq. To reach those figures, the pipeline needs to reach the south anyway,” he said.
He also tied the project’s future to Iraq’s Development Road initiative — a major infrastructure corridor from Basrah to the Turkish border — which Ankara views as a strategic opportunity to deepen regional energy interdependence.
Negotiations between the two countries are ongoing, with a decision expected by mid-2026.
