Türkiye and Iraq have signed a one-year agreement to keep the Iraq-Türkiye Crude Oil Pipeline in operation, ensuring the continued transportation of Iraqi crude to the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan at a minimum rate of 750,000 barrels per day, Qazinform News Agency cites Anadolu.
The agreement, signed following talks in Ankara between Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar and Iraqi Oil Minister Basim Mohammed Khudair, was concluded by Türkiye's state pipeline operator BOTAS and Iraq's state-owned companies SOMO and North Oil Company (NOC).
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi described the deal as a strategic breakthrough that would safeguard uninterrupted oil exports while further strengthening economic cooperation between the two countries. He said Iraqi and Turkish companies would begin implementing the agreement immediately, while both governments would continue working toward a broader framework covering cooperation in the oil, electricity and water resources sectors, along with other areas aimed at promoting development and regional stability.
Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar called the agreement a landmark step in bilateral energy relations, noting that the pipeline has gained added strategic importance as an alternative export corridor amid the Hormuz crisis, which has disrupted the movement of around 20 million barrels of oil in the Gulf.
Bayraktar also said Türkiye intends to make full use of the pipeline's 1.5 million-barrel-per-day capacity and, in the future, hopes to transport crude not only from Iraq but also from Kuwait and other Gulf countries to international markets through the Ceyhan terminal.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that Almaty International Airport had welcomed the first direct SunExpress flight operating on the new Izmir–Almaty–Izmir route.