Iraq signs deals with Western oil firms to revive Syria pipeline, bypass Strait of Hormuz
Iraq's government has struck dozens of agreements with Western oil companies, including a plan to restore an energy supply route Baghdad could use to export oil without the Strait of Hormuz, according to Al Jazeera (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/17/iraq-signs-deals-with-western-oil-firms-including-to-revive-syria-pipeline). The preliminary deals were signed at a United States–Iraq business summit at the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington on Friday.
By Source Reporters Newsdesk
Fri, 17 July 2026 · 1 min read
Iraq's government has struck dozens of agreements with Western oil companies, including a plan to restore an energy supply route Baghdad could use to export oil without the Strait of Hormuz, according to Al Jazeera (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/17/iraq-signs-deals-with-western-oil-firms-including-to-revive-syria-pipeline). The preliminary deals were signed at a United States–Iraq business summit at the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington on Friday.
Iraq and Syria signed a cooperation agreement to reconstruct the long-defunct Iraq–Syria crude oil pipeline, which runs from the oil-rich Kirkuk region in northern Iraq to Syria's Mediterranean port of Baniyas, Al Jazeera reported (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/17/iraq-signs-deals-with-western-oil-firms-including-to-revive-syria-pipeline). Iraq's state news agency said major US energy company Chevron would carry out the project.
The US State Department welcomed the plan, saying a "US-led international consortium" would execute the technical and financial aspects of the pipeline, which it said would have an initial transport capacity of 2 million barrels per day upon rehabilitation, according to Al Jazeera (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/17/iraq-signs-deals-with-western-oil-firms-including-to-revive-syria-pipeline). US ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack said the agreements would lead to a programme "that will make the Strait of Hormuz an afterthought."
In total, Iraqi officials' initial agreements with US firms across energy, healthcare and technology are worth more than $60bn, Reuters reported via Al Jazeera (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/17/iraq-signs-deals-with-western-oil-firms-including-to-revive-syria-pipeline). Iraq also signed an agreement with Starlink, owned by Elon Musk's SpaceX, to operate formally in the country, Iraqi state media reported.
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