- Turkish energy minister says talks in Baghdad focused on pipeline, oil, natural gas cooperation
Türkiye and Iraq are expected to sign a 12-month agreement in the coming days to keep crude oil flow through the Iraq-Türkiye Crude Oil Pipeline to the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan uninterrupted, the Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Ministry said Thursday.
Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said oil flow through the pipeline to Ceyhan would continue without interruption.
Bayraktar, who was in Baghdad for talks, said he held a productive meeting with Iraqi Oil Minister Basim Mohammed Khudair, during which the two sides discussed cooperation opportunities in oil and natural gas, particularly the pipeline.
“We assessed the areas of cooperation we can develop in the oil and natural gas sectors, particularly focusing on the Iraq-Türkiye Crude Oil Pipeline,” Bayraktar wrote on US social media platform X.
He said the effective use of existing infrastructure and its support through new connections form the foundation of the two countries’ shared energy vision.
Bayraktar added that Türkiye aims to turn the Development Road Project into not only a trade and transportation corridor but also a regional energy route.
He said Ankara attaches importance to advancing cooperation with Iraq’s newly established government through close coordination, and that concrete steps would raise the partnership between the two countries to a higher level.
The Iraq-Türkiye Crude Oil Pipeline carries Iraqi crude to Türkiye’s Mediterranean export terminal of Ceyhan, a key outlet for regional oil shipments.