Tehran reactivates oil pipeline project reaching Syria

Tehran revived a project aiming to export oil from Iran through a pipeline running through Iraqi territory to the Syrian port of Baniyas on the Mediterranean.

Sources revealed that through this solution, Iran is seeking to circumvent the US sanctions imposed on it and avoid the Strait of Hormuz, fearing its closure in case of any military confrontation, according to the Iraqi website Alsumaria.

Tehran has previously introduced the idea of ​​the project in 2014, but it had stopped when Daesh took control of large areas in northern and western Iraq, including land through which the pipeline is supposed to cross.

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The project includes two stages, namely the construction of a 1,000-kilometer pipeline, about half of which crosses Iraq, and second joining Kirkuk-Baniyas pipeline, which has not been operating since 1982 after Baghdad severed ties with Damascus for supporting Tehran during the Iran-Iraq war.

The Iranian proposal includes repairing the Kirkuk-Baniyas pipeline and Iran assuming the full cost, then taking advantage of it to export, for the capacity of the pipeline is expected to reach about 1.25 million barrels per day.

The second pipeline will cross the northern axis of Iraq through the Nineveh Plains in the north and enter the Syrian territory through Deir ez-Zor, reaching the Syrian coast. The source declared that Iraq did not decide regards to this matter.

The Strait of Hormuz is one of the most important straits in the world. More than 20 million barrels per day of raw materials and oil derivatives, cross the strait, mostly heading to Asian and European markets.