Iraq is preparing to export crude oil and naphtha through ports in Syria, Syrian and Iraqi energy officials and refinery sources said after the Iran war cut off its main Gulf shipping routes, according to Reuters.
The move would broaden an arrangement that has seen Iraq export fuel oil through the Mediterranean port of Baniyas after the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which sharply curtailed Gulf export routes for OPEC’s second-largest producer.
Two Iraqi oil officials have said plans to diversify crude and fuel export routes, including through Syria, would continue even after the Iran war ends and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz returns to normal, as part of a government-approved strategy to reduce Iraq’s reliance on a single export corridor.
“The Iraqi government and the oil ministry attach the highest importance to diversifying crude export routes, particularly through Syrian territory,” Iraqi oil ministry spokesperson Saleem al-Rikabi tells Reuters.
Rikabi has said the oil ministry, through state oil marketer SOMO, was continuing “discussions and cooperation” with Syria to expand exports through its western neighbour.
