Iraq and Syria are planning to revive a long-abandoned oil pipeline to transport crude from northern Iraq to Syria's Mediterranean coast, allowing a strategic bypass of the Strait of Hormuz, a U.S. official said on Tuesday.
The pipeline, originally built in 1952, runs from Kirkuk in northern Iraq to Baniyas on the Syrian coast, spanning about 800 kilometers with a capacity of 300,000 barrels per day. It was severely damaged during the Iran-Iraq War and the Iraq War, and has been out of service for years.
U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy for Syria and Iraq Tom Barrack has held talks with Iraqi and Syrian officials as well as relevant U.S. companies to discuss the pipeline's restoration, according to informed sources.
The pipeline's pumping stations and power systems are reported to be in serious disrepair and will require extensive repairs, a process that could take two to three years.
Iraq, Syria to revive oil pipeline to bypass Strait of Hormuz
