Ankara, September 28, 2025 – The Europe Today: Oil shipments through the Iraq–Türkiye pipeline resumed on Saturday after a two-and-a-half-year suspension, in a development expected to bolster Türkiye’s energy supply and diversify global oil markets.
Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar confirmed that oil flows restarted at 7:07 a.m. local time (0407 GMT) through the pipeline, which had been out of service since the devastating February 6, 2023 earthquakes. The line had been declared operational by Türkiye’s state energy company BOTAS in October 2023.
The twin-line pipeline, with a combined capacity of about 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd), transports crude oil from Iraq, including fields in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) area, to the Mediterranean export terminal at Ceyhan.
Iraq’s Oil Ministry announced that crude produced in the northern region will be delivered to the State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO) and exported through Ceyhan under an agreement with the KRG and producing companies. Initial exports are expected to average around 200,000 bpd.
Bayraktar earlier stated that, once operating at full capacity, the pipeline could allow Iraq to channel up to 40% of its roughly 4 million bpd exports through Türkiye, creating an estimated $40 billion in annual trade potential.
Pipeline Capacity Represents 1% of Global Oil Output
Energy analysts noted that while the reopening is significant, its global impact remains limited.
John Roberts, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, told Anadolu Agency that the line’s capacity — over 1 million bpd, or about 1% of global production — is “a lot of oil and it helps in terms of general supplies.”
However, he emphasized that Europe, a traditional consumer, is not facing shortages. “Getting the pipeline back into action helps, but it’s not vital,” he said, noting that the move mainly supports Türkiye’s own energy balance.
Shifting Regional Energy Geopolitics
Experts also highlighted the geopolitical implications of the resumption.
Francesco Sassi, a political scientist at the University of Oslo, observed that while the impact on European energy security is minimal, the move reflects a strategic alignment among Iraq, Türkiye, and the KRG.
“In the last two and a half years, operators found alternative supplies amid a glut and lower prices,” Sassi said. “The resumption tells more about the formation of an Iraq–Türkiye–KRG energy triangle, where the first two partners are becoming key actors in regional energy geopolitics.”
He added that Iraq is seeking to reduce its reliance on the Strait of Hormuz, where transit risks persist amid regional tensions, while Baghdad and Ankara are working to resolve long-standing disputes with the KRG.
“The renewed push aims at addressing energy insecurities while creating a political and economic axis stretching from the Gulf to the Mediterranean,” Sassi noted.
