Salim al-Rikabi, spokesman for Iraq’s Oil Ministry, said the average Iraqi crude oil exports during August ranged between two million and 2.2 million barrels per day through the Strait of Hormuz, while exports through the southern maritime outlets stood at between two million and 2.2 million barrels per day.
Southern outlets underpin exports
Al-Rikabi described the southern maritime outlets as the mainstay and backbone of the oil export system and the national economy, stressing that they would remain the main outlet for Iraqi exports.
He explained that the ministry’s decision to study and develop other outlets was aimed at providing supporting outlets to bolster the export system and enhance its strategic flexibility.
Plans to export through Ceyhan and Baniyas
Al-Rikabi added that the ministry’s plans to expand the export network include maintaining operations through the northern outlet, represented by Türkiye’s Ceyhan port, where current export rates range from 150,000 to 180,000 barrels per day, according to the German Press Agency (dpa).
He said advanced steps and serious efforts were under way to develop exports through the Syrian outlet via Baniyas port, providing Iraq with an additional strategic opening onto the Mediterranean.
Aqaba project under study
Al-Rikabi said the government’s position on an outlet for Iraqi crude oil exports through Jordan’s Aqaba port "remains under technical and economic study, and vital details concerning the total financial cost and the final export capacity have not yet been decided."
Iraq has been studying since the 1990s a project to build an oil pipeline for exports through Aqaba port, as well as to supply Jordan’s Zarqa refinery with crude oil. The project has not yet been implemented, despite both sides’ commitment to developing it in the future so that it would reach Egypt.
