Pipeline Damage Delays Restart of Iraq-Turkey Oil Flows

Northern Iraqi crude oil flows to Turkey’s port of Ceyhan remain halted because of pipeline damages following the earthquakes in Turkey earlier this year, Iraq’s Oil Minister Hayyan Adbul Ghani said to CNBC.

• During the earthquakes earlier this year, the oil pipeline from Iraq’s northern fields to the Turkish port of Ceyhan has been damaged. Turkey is currently assessing the damage that caused and oil leak, Ghani said.
• Iraq has asked a Turkish technical delegation to meet Iraqi officials earlier in June to discuss damages on the pipeline.
• “Negotiations with Turkey are ongoing”, Ghani said.
• It is possible to transport up to 475kbpd of crude oil via the pipeline once flows resume, he added.
• Iraq was forced to halt around 470kbpd of crude oil export from the northern region on 25 March through the export pipeline to Ceyhan following an arbitration ruling.
• There have been many speculations as to why flows have not restarted. While some oil market sources stated it is a political issue and flows are likely to resume following Turkey presidential election in late May and the introduction of Iraq’s new budget law, others said that technical issues are holding up the restart of exports.