Iraq's Oil Exports via Turkey Hit 500,000 Bpd

Iraq has increased its crude oil exports through Turkey's Ceyhan port to 500,000 barrels per day, according to a source at the North Oil Company.

The rise in exports marks the first time since pipeline operations resumed in September last year that Iraq has reached this level, up from approximately 350,000 barrels per day.

The increase comes as the war in Iran disrupted oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, forcing Iraq to rely on alternative shipping routes.

Iraq's Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline resumed operations in September last year after a two-and-a-half-year halt due to disputes over revenue distribution between the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government.

Iraq is currently shipping about 200,000 barrels per day of Basrah crude to Ceyhan, with the oil collected by tanker at Sarallu and Khurmala before being pumped north.

Crude production from Iraq's southern fields fell by 70% in the early weeks of the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran, with output averaging 1.3 million barrels per day, down from 4.3 million before the conflict.

Iraq's oil exports have recovered to near pre-war levels, exceeding 3.4 million barrels per day in October, according to Oil Minister Bassem Mohammed Khudair.

In the long term, Iraq plans to revive a pipeline to the Syrian Mediterranean coast to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, though the project is expected to take three to four years to complete.