"If the Strait of Hormuz Is Blocked, Then the Mediterranean"... Iraq and Türkiye Reach Deal on Oil Exports via the Mediterranean

[Financial News] Iraq has agreed to export its crude oil through a Turkish port on the Mediterranean Sea.
According to foreign media reports on the 2nd, the Iraqi government signed a one-year agreement with Türkiye on the 1st local time to begin exporting Iraqi crude oil through the pipeline to Türkiye's Ceyhan Port on the Mediterranean Sea.
Under the agreement, Iraq plans to export at least 750,000 barrels of oil per day through the pipeline. The deal was announced by Iraq's Ministry of Oil in the name of Oil Minister Basim Mohammed Khudair.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaydi said on social media platform X that "Iraqi and Turkish oil companies will immediately implement this agreement" and added, "The two governments will not stop here, but will continue to pursue comprehensive cooperation and agreements between the two countries in the oil sector as well as in electricity and water resources through careful national planning and various projects."
The Ceyhan pipeline is regarded as one of the safest and least disrupted routes for bringing Iraqi crude oil to the global market.
Türkiye's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Alparslan Bayraktar, said the pipeline's strategic importance has grown even further as energy supply crises and security concerns deepen across the Middle East and around the world.
The agreement was reached just before a bilateral contract, under which Iraq has exported oil through Ceyhan for decades, was set to expire on August 3.
Iraq relies on oil sales for 90% of its national revenue. In recent weeks, as tensions and fighting between the U.S. and Iran over passage through the Strait of Hormuz have escalated, the Iraqi government has focused on finding alternative export routes.
[email protected] Han Young-joon Reporter