Full story
Pipeline revival deal
Syria is positioning itself as an alternative route for Iraqi oil exports as the Iran conflict disrupts shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, and on July 17 in Washington, DC, Syrian and Iraqi state oil company executives signed a deal to revive a key pipeline from Iraq to Syria’s port of Baniyas.
The Long War Journal says the original Banias pipeline runs from the Kirkuk oil fields in northern Iraq to Syria’s Mediterranean coast, with an estimated export capacity of about 300,000 barrels per day, and that it ceased operations in 1982 amid political tensions between Syrian President Hafez al-Assad and Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
The Institute for Energy Research reports that Chevron recently signed deals to invest in Iraqi oil fields and to consider building a pipeline connecting Iraq’s reservoirs to the Syrian coast, with the Kirkuk–Baniyas route using the path of one damaged during the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.
That same report says the pipeline is slated to have an initial transport capacity of 2 million barrels per day, and it adds that the consortium plans to conduct technical studies to determine whether to build a new pipeline or update existing infrastructure to connect to pipelines through Turkey.
Energy diplomacy and estimates
ANHA’s Hawar News Agency frames the Kirkuk–Baniyas pipeline as a way to strengthen Syria, Iraq’s position, reduce Turkish influence, and reshape the region’s energy map, describing the project as returning to the forefront in policy discussions.
In a separate account, The Institute for Energy Research says Chevron has been in discussion with the Iraqi government for 12 to 18 months and that Iraq’s oil production fell from 4.2 million barrels per day in February to 1.45 million barrels per day in May.
The Syrian Observer quotes economic expert Dr Khalid Turkawi estimating Syria’s annual revenue at between 200 and 250 million dollars, with potential increases as throughput rises, and it adds that he argued the project could yield up to half a billion dollars in peak years.
Turkawi also warned that hostile actors—including pro-Iranian cells, armed groups and extremist factions—could target the infrastructure, making robust protection essential, while Osama Al-Abdullah described the rehabilitation as a major opportunity for Syria to restore its role as a regional energy centre.
Security, jobs, and next steps
The Long War Journal links the pipeline revival to broader efforts to stabilize Syria after the destruction wrought by the country’s civil war from 2011 to 2024, and it places the energy deals alongside a graduation ceremony on July 23 for 1,000 new air force cadets.
It also reports that the United States has begun importing fuel oil of Iraqi origin shipped through Syria for the first time, according to shipping data and two sources familiar with the operations, as Iraq expands a Mediterranean export route established after disruptions to Gulf trade routes earlier this year.
The Syrian Observer says reviving the Kirkuk–Baniyas line could provide Syria transit revenue, refined crude for domestic use, and an opportunity to attract investment that could support reconstruction, while also warning that security remains the principal challenge for the infrastructure.
In the same account, Turkawi argued that the core infrastructure already exists and requires only maintenance and rehabilitation, and he said the Iraqi government and international firms possess the financial capacity to support the project, with the project’s success depending on coordinated protection between Syria and Iraq and possibly international monitoring.
