Iraq and Syria have officially entered into a memorandum of understanding in Washington DC to rehabilitate and reconstruct the Iraq-Syria crude oil pipeline. This strategic project is intended to restore a vital export route that connects Iraqi oil fields to the Mediterranean coast in Syria, effectively providing a path that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz.
The agreement was formalized on Friday during a US-Iraq Business Council meeting. Signatories included Bassem Abdul Karim Nasr, head of the Basra Oil Company, representing Iraq, and Youssef Qablawi, CEO of the Syrian Petroleum Company, representing Syria. The signing ceremony was attended by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright.
The US State Department expressed its support for the initiative, labeling it a priority infrastructure project of both bilateral and regional strategic significance. In an official statement, the department welcomed the involvement of a US-led international consortium tasked with executing the project's technical and financial requirements, noting that the announcement represents a major milestone for regional stability and relations between Iraq and Syria.
According to the State Department, both nations recognize the importance of the project, which is projected to have an initial transport capacity of 2 million barrels of crude oil per day. Reports from the Iraqi News Agency (INA) further specified that the agreement targets the rehabilitation of the pipeline linking Haditha in Iraq to Baniyas in Syria, with the US energy corporation Chevron slated to implement the project. The pipeline has remained out of service since sustaining damage during the 2003 US invasion of Iraq.
The initiative follows a period of declining global shipping through the Strait of Hormuz amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, leading multiple nations to explore alternative transport routes. Chevron has been engaged in ongoing discussions with Iraq regarding technical studies and potential route evaluations. In the lead-up to this agreement, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi conducted a five-day visit to the United States, which included a meeting with US President Donald Trump on Tuesday and a visit to Chevron’s Houston headquarters on Thursday. Additionally, the Iraqi News Agency reported that Iraq is preparing to sign approximately 50 separate agreements and memorandums of understanding with the US, carrying a total value of $60 billion.
