Türkiye Says to Re-Start Operations of Iraq Oil Pipeline This Week 

Türkiye’s Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar talks during a meeting in Ankara, Türkiye, September 14, 2023. (Turkish Energy Ministry Press Office/PPO/Handout via Reuters)
Türkiye’s Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar talks during a meeting in Ankara, Türkiye, September 14, 2023. (Turkish Energy Ministry Press Office/PPO/Handout via Reuters)
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Türkiye Says to Re-Start Operations of Iraq Oil Pipeline This Week 

Türkiye’s Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar talks during a meeting in Ankara, Türkiye, September 14, 2023. (Turkish Energy Ministry Press Office/PPO/Handout via Reuters)
Türkiye’s Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar talks during a meeting in Ankara, Türkiye, September 14, 2023. (Turkish Energy Ministry Press Office/PPO/Handout via Reuters)

Türkiye will restart operations this week on a crude oil pipeline from Iraq that has been suspended for about six months, Türkiye’s Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on Monday.

"Within this week, we will start operating the Iraq-Türkiye pipeline after resuming operations. It will be able to supply half a million barrels, almost, to global oil markets," Bayraktar said during the ADIPEC conference in Abu Dhabi.

Türkiye has been a reliable transit route for oil and gas, he added.

Türkiye halted flows on Iraq's northern oil export route about six months ago after an arbitration ruling by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ordered Ankara to pay Baghdad damages for unauthorized exports between 2014 and 2018.

Ankara later started maintenance work on the pipeline that contributes about 0.5% of global crude supply.

Baghdad and Ankara agreed to wait until a maintenance assessment on the pipeline, which goes through a seismic zone, was complete to restart flows while still engaging in a legal battle on arbitration awards.

Türkiye was weighing legal action against Iraq, which has an outstanding enforcement case against Türkiye, Bayraktar said last month.



Oil Prices Held Down by Trump Tariff Uncertainty

FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)
FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)
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Oil Prices Held Down by Trump Tariff Uncertainty

FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)
FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)

Oil prices were little changed on Thursday, maintaining almost all of the previous session's losses on uncertainty over how US President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs and energy policies would affect global economic growth and energy demand.

Brent crude futures were up 18 cents at $79.18 a barrel by 1315 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) rose 14 cents to $75.58.

"Oil markets have given back some recent gains due to mixed drivers," said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at brokerage Phillip Nova.

"Key factors include expectations of increased US production under President Trump's pro-drilling policies and easing geopolitical stress in Gaza, lifting fears of further escalation in supply disruption from key producing regions."

The broader economic implications of US tariffs could further dampen global oil demand growth, she added, Reuters reported.

Trump has said he would add new tariffs to his sanctions threat against Russia if the country does not make a deal to end its war in Ukraine.

He also vowed to hit the European Union with tariffs and impose 25% tariffs against Canada and Mexico. On China, Trump said his administration was discussing a 10% punitive duty because fentanyl is being sent from there to the United States.

On Monday he declared a national energy emergency intended to provide him with the authority to reduce environmental restrictions on energy infrastructure and projects and ease permitting for new transmission and pipeline infrastructure.

There will be "more potential downward choppy movement in the oil market in the near term due to the Trump administration's lack of clarity on trade tariffs policy and impending higher oil supplies from the US", OANDA senior market analyst Kelvin Wong said in an email.

On the US oil inventory front, crude stocks rose by 958,000 barrels in the week ended Jan. 17, according to sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Wednesday.

Gasoline inventories rose by 3.23 million barrels and distillate stocks climbed by 1.88 million barrels, they said.