Turkey does not support extending the existing Kirkuk-Ceyhan oil pipeline agreement under current conditions, a senior Turkish official said, after Baghdad requested a one-year extension to allow more time for negotiations on a revised deal.
The decades-old Turkey-Iraq Crude Oil Pipeline Agreement, which governs crude exports through the route to Turkey’s Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, is set to expire on July 27. Talks between Baghdad and Ankara on a new framework are ongoing.
“There is no point in extending an agreement that has been subject to arbitration,” the Turkish official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said in response to Iraq’s request.
The Ceyhan terminal is a critical export outlet for Iraqi crude. Iraq’s main southern export infrastructure in Basra has faced operational disruptions linked to wider regional tensions, including reduced maritime access through the Strait of Hormuz following strikes on Iran earlier this year.
Turkey last year moved to terminate the existing accord and called for a new agreement under revised conditions. Ankara has proposed changes aimed at maximizing pipeline utilization, including potential expansion of infrastructure further into southern Iraq.
The pipeline was offline for more than two years after an international arbitration court ruled that Turkey must pay $1.5 billion in damages for unauthorized Iraqi exports between 2014 and 2018. Flows resumed late last year following the shutdown.
A second arbitration case covering the period from 2018 onward remains ongoing, along with a separate enforcement case in a U.S. court.
The pipeline has a capacity of nearly 1.5 million barrels per day but has consistently operated below that level due to security constraints and technical issues. Crude flows from Kirkuk to Ceyhan averaged 177,000 barrels per day in April, according to shipping data reviewed by Reuters.
