A Year after Iraq-Türkiye Pipeline Halt, No Progress to Resume Flows

A worker checks the valve gears of pipes linked to oil tanks at Türkiye's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, which is run by state-owned Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAS), some 70 km (43.5 miles) from Adana February 19, 2014. REUTERS
A worker checks the valve gears of pipes linked to oil tanks at Türkiye's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, which is run by state-owned Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAS), some 70 km (43.5 miles) from Adana February 19, 2014. REUTERS
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A Year after Iraq-Türkiye Pipeline Halt, No Progress to Resume Flows

A worker checks the valve gears of pipes linked to oil tanks at Türkiye's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, which is run by state-owned Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAS), some 70 km (43.5 miles) from Adana February 19, 2014. REUTERS
A worker checks the valve gears of pipes linked to oil tanks at Türkiye's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, which is run by state-owned Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAS), some 70 km (43.5 miles) from Adana February 19, 2014. REUTERS

A year after the closure of the Iraq-Türkiye oil pipeline, the conduit that once handled about 0.5% of global oil supply is still stuck in limbo as legal and financial hurdles impede the resumption of flows, three sources told Reuters.

About 450,000 barrels per day of crude once flowed through Iraq's northern oil export route via Türkiye, and its closure has led to the loss of roughly $11 billion to $12 billion for Iraq, the Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (APIKUR) estimates.

A restart is not being discussed at the moment, one of the sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

Ankara halted flows on March 25, 2023, after an arbitration ruling found it had violated provisions of a 1973 treaty by facilitating oil exports from the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan without the consent of the Iraqi federal government in Baghdad.

The court ordered Ankara to pay Baghdad $1.5 billion in damages for unauthorized exports between 2014 and 2018. A second ongoing arbitration case covers the period from 2018 onwards.

Meanwhile, Iraq owes Türkiye minimum payments as long as the pipeline is technically operational - estimated by consultancy Wood Mackenzie at around $25 million per month - as part of the treaty, in theory providing an incentive to restart flows.

Also key to any restart deal are the international oil companies operating in the Kurdistan region, who were forced to halt exports as a result of the pipeline closure. Instead, they can only sell oil locally in Kurdistan at a significant discount.

With more than $1 billion collectively owed in overdue payments for oil delivered between October 2022 and March 2023, according to APIKUR, the group continues to push for compensation in line with their contracts.

The companies have also collectively lost more than $1.5 billion in direct revenue since the closure, the group said.

Despite several meetings, neither APIKUR nor its members have received any formal proposals or agreements from Iraqi or Kurdish officials that would lead to a resumption of exports, an APIKUR spokesperson said.



Four Moroccan Truck Drivers Kidnapped in Burkina Faso Are Released

A general view of the Moroccan capital Rabat. (File photo/AFP)
A general view of the Moroccan capital Rabat. (File photo/AFP)
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Four Moroccan Truck Drivers Kidnapped in Burkina Faso Are Released

A general view of the Moroccan capital Rabat. (File photo/AFP)
A general view of the Moroccan capital Rabat. (File photo/AFP)

Four Moroccan truck drivers who were kidnapped in West Africa over the weekend were released in Niger, officials said, according to AP.

The drivers were the latest victims of insecurity in the Sahel, an arid swath of land south of the Sahara where militant groups such as ISIS - Sahel Province have in recent years exploited local grievances to grow their ranks and expand their presence.

The four were transporting electrical equipment from Casablanca to Niamey, the capital city of Niger, and had been on the road for more than 20 days traveling the 3,000-mile (4,950-kilometer) truck route when they were reported missing on Saturday, said the secretary-general of Morocco's Transport Union and a Moroccan official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment on the kidnapping.

The Moroccan Embassy in Burkina Faso late on Monday informed the union that the four drivers had been freed and were safe in Niamey.

“They will be brought back soon,” said Echarki El Hachmi, the union's secretary-general.

Their trucks and hauls remain missing, he added.

Burkina Faso and Niger are battling extremist militant groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIS, whose insurgencies have destabilized Sahel states in West Africa over the past decade.

A Moroccan diplomatic source earlier said the embassy was working together with Burkina Faso authorities to find the drivers.

Authorities in Burkina Faso have been organizing security convoys to escort trucks in the border area to protect against militant attacks, the source said.

El Hachmi had told Reuters that the trucks set off after waiting for a week without getting an escort.

He urged more protection in high-risk areas as the number of Moroccan trucks crossing the Sahel continues to rise.

Earlier this month, a convoy of Moroccan trucks was attacked on the Malian border with Mauritania. There were no casualties, El Hachmi said.