Pipeline launch
Iraq's Ministry of Oil has launched a strategic project to build a 700-kilometer crude oil pipeline between the southern city of Basra and the western town of Haditha, with a designed throughput of 2.5 million barrels per day. The ministry described the new line as a step toward reopening export routes through Syria, Turkey, and Jordan.
The announcement was made on 2 May 2026. It positions the pipeline as part of a wider plan to diversify Iraq's crude evacuation options beyond reliance on the southern Gulf terminals around Basra.
Budget and local manufacturing
The project carries an initial budget of $1.5 billion and will use locally manufactured pipes, produced in cooperation with the Iraqi Ministry of Industry and Minerals. Ministry spokesperson Saheb Bazoun said: "The project extends 700 kilometers and has a capacity reaching 2.5 million barrels per day."
Anchoring the build to domestic pipe production keeps a larger share of project spending inside Iraq rather than routing it through foreign suppliers.
Connection to Banias port
The new line is presented as the inland leg of a longer route that would ultimately reach the Syrian Mediterranean port of Banias. The Iraqi side framed the wider project as a way to enable exports through Syria, Turkey, and Jordan, broadening Baghdad's outlets across three neighbors rather than a single southern corridor.
For Syria, the Banias-bound segment links a major new Iraqi infrastructure investment to Syrian coastal infrastructure, threading the project through Syrian territory rather than around it.
Kirkuk–Ceyhan revival
Alongside the Basra–Haditha announcement, the ministry said pumping through the Kirkuk–Ceyhan pipeline is close to resuming at a capacity of 600,000 barrels per day, following a rehabilitation program. Taken together, the two moves point to a wider Iraqi push to lock in multiple northbound and westbound export channels during 2026.
Regional context
Adding a Syrian leg through Banias, alongside the planned restart of the Kirkuk–Ceyhan line, would give Baghdad parallel options heading north into Turkey and west across Syria toward the Mediterranean. The ministry's plan therefore stitches together three potential transit countries — Syria, Turkey, and Jordan — under a single export framework.