Iraq prepares to export oil by truck via Syria — Anadolu Agency
Iraq is preparing to export crude oil by truck through Syria to the Mediterranean Sea, seeking an alternative route bypassing the Strait of Hormuz. The first convoys may arrive in Baniyas, Syria, in mid-October, Anadolu Agency reports, citing Bloomberg.
Route through Baniyas
Yousef Qiblawi, director general of the Syrian Petroleum Company, told Bloomberg that Baghdad had sought assistance in exporting crude oil in addition to the current fuel oil supplies. According to him, an agreement between the governments of the two countries is nearing completion.
The Syrian Petroleum Company plans to provide oil storage tanks in Baniyas before it is loaded onto ships for further export. The proposed route is intended to expand the existing overland corridor through which Iraqi fuel oil is delivered to Syria’s Mediterranean coast.
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Transport and pipeline
Qiblawi said that around 1,000 trucks transport fuel oil every day, carrying 220 barrels each. For transporting crude oil, he expects the same or a larger fleet to be used. At such rates, 1,000 trucks could transport 220,000 barrels per day.
Ahmed Qubbaji, deputy director general for transport and storage at the company, told the Syrian state agency SANA on September 27 that between 1,000 and 1,200 trucks pass through Syrian territory every day. At the end of September, Syria also began supplying imported gasoline from Baniyas to Iraq under a three-month agreement with an option for extension and plans to increase traffic to 200 trucks per day.
Iraq and Syria are also working to restore the Haditha–Baniyas pipeline, historically linked to the Kirkuk–Baniyas route. SANA reported in July on agreements between Syria, Iraq, and an international consortium concerning the project. Its planned capacity is 2 million barrels per day, but the pipeline is not yet an operational export route.
