Iraq, Türkiye sign agreement to transport crude oil exports via Ceyhan port

Iraq signed a one-year agreement with Türkiye on Saturday to transport and load Iraqi crude oil through the Iraq-Türkiye pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, the Iraqi Oil Ministry said.

Under the agreement, Iraq will export a minimum quantity of 750,000 barrels per day of crude oil through the pipeline, Iraqi Oil Minister Basim Mohammed Khudhair said in a statement issued by the ministry's media office.

"Iraqi and Turkish companies will begin implementing the agreement, while the two governments will move forward, through a carefully planned process, to finalize a comprehensive framework agreement covering the oil, electricity, and water resources sectors, along with other areas of cooperation that advance our shared interests and support development and stability," Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said on his X page.

This pipeline, which safely and uninterruptedly delivers Iraqi oil to world markets via Ceyhan, has a more strategic position than ever before in terms of regional and global energy supply security, as demonstrated by developments in the global oil markets, Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on X.

The agreement comes after the decades-old accord governing Iraqi oil exports through Ceyhan expired on Monday, as Baghdad seeks to secure alternative export routes to diversify its channels amid ongoing regional tensions impacting shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iraq's economy relies heavily on crude oil exports, which account for about 90 percent of the country's revenues.

Iraq, Türkiye sign agreement to transport crude oil exports via Ceyhan port

Chinese crested terns, one of the world's rarest seabird species, have been recorded in coastal wetlands in Nantong, east China's Jiangsu Province, for a seventh consecutive year.

Bird photographers captured images of the critically endangered birds on July 23 and 24, with sightings this season reported to be more frequent than in previous years.

With a global population of just over 200, the Chinese crested tern is under China's highest level of national protection. Its rarity and elusive nature have earned it the nickname "the mythical bird" in the country.

The species breeds mainly on uninhabited islands off the coasts of Zhejiang and Fujian provinces in east China. Between July and September, some birds stop in Nantong's coastal wetlands to rest and feed during their seasonal migration.

The repeated sightings underline the role of Nantong's wetlands as a stopover site for rare migratory birds, as Jiangsu continues efforts to restore wetland habitats.

Rare Chinese crested terns return to east China wetland for seventh year