Iraq Cabinet Approves Plan to Triple Kirkuk-Ceyhan Pipeline Oil Exports to 770,000 bpd

Iraq's cabinet approved a plan to triple oil exports through the Kirkuk-Ceyhan (Iraq-Turkey) Pipeline from approximately 220,000 bpd to a target of 770,000 barrels per day within 2.5 months, as the Strait of Hormuz remained closed due to the ongoing US-Iran conflict. The pipeline, which runs 970km from the Kirkuk oil fields northward through the Kurdistan Region into Turkey, terminating at the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, was dormant for most of 2023–2025 following an ICC arbitration ruling against Turkey. It was revived in March 2026 after Hormuz closed and southern exports collapsed. The 770,000 bpd target represents the pipeline's estimated maximum throughput capacity, requiring capital investment in pump stations and pipeline integrity work. Even at maximum capacity, it represents only approximately 17% of Iraq's pre-crisis southern export level (~3.3 million bpd from Basra terminals alone). The Kurdistan Regional Government, whose territory the pipeline crosses, welcomed the development as it provides geopolitical leverage in ongoing Baghdad-Erbil budget negotiations — giving Erbil an infrastructural role essential to federal Iraq's oil recovery. Total Iraqi crude oil production remained at approximately 1.5 million bpd, with the Basra-Haditha alternative pipeline still 18–24 months from completion. Bloomberg confirmed the export ramp-up was in progress as of early June 2026.