WASHINGTON – The US and Iraq discussed the resumption of a major pipeline that can transport oil from the Middle Eastern country to global markets after the link was shut almost since 2023 following regional cost disputes.
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani agreed on the need for Iraq to quickly reopen the conduit, according to a Feb 25 statement on the US Department of State website.
The potential restart of the pipeline, which Baghdad has said is likely to resume with about 185,000 barrels a day of initial flows, has weighed on oil prices since Iraq said that it was ready to bring it back online.
The development comes at a delicate time for energy markets just as US President Donald Trump has been calling for lower oil prices. Crude on Feb 25 fell to the lowest level in 2025 on concerns over economic growth.
Iraq has said exports from the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region will remain within its overall Opec+ quota, but the country, which has a poor record of compliance, has not yet clarified how it will achieve that.
Iraqi Oil Minister Hayan Abdul Ghani this week said the country is in touch with Turkey to discuss technical issues before it can resume shipments through the pipeline that runs to the Turkish port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean Sea.
The project shut down in March 2023 in a payment dispute, and there have been various instances since then, when officials have claimed a restart was imminent.
The US also pushed for a restart in the days after the pipeline was originally shut.
Mr Rubio and Mr Al-Sudani also discussed the need for Iraq, which imports gas from Iran, to become energy independent, to reduce Tehran’s influence, and continue efforts to prevent terror group ISIS from resurging in the broader region, according to the statement. BLOOMBERG
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