Iraq to reopen oil pipeline to Turkey, bypassing one in KRG

Iraq will reopen an old crude oil pipeline to Turkey which bypasses one operated by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), the oil ministry said in a statement on Oct. 10, as reported by Reuters.

Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi has asked state-owned North Oil Co., the operator of the Kirkuk fields, the State Company for Oil Projects and the state pipeline company to begin the process of restoring and reopening the Kirkuk - Ceyhan pipeline.

The ministry also said it aims to increase exports through the pipeline to 400,000 barrels per day.

The Kirkuk - Ceyhan pipeline crosses territory taken by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants in 2014 and recaptured by U.S.-backed Iraqi forces over the past two years.