Iraq wants to hike oil exports through Turkey

BAGHDAD - Agence France-Presse

Iran says it may block strategic Strait of Hormuz in response to an oil embargo. AP photo

Iraq is mulling options to boost oil exports through Turkey or to reopen disused pipelines in case Iran blocks the strategic Strait of Hormuz as threatened, the Planning Minister said yesterday.

Iran has threatened retaliation for fresh Western sanctions over its nuclear program, including a possible disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a Gulf chokepoint for global oil shipments.

“Government committees have been formed in Iraq,” and have discussed options “if, God forbid, the Strait of Hormuz is closed,” Planning Minister Ali Yusuf al-Shukri told a news conference in Baghdad.

The vast majority of Iraq’s oil is exported from terminals in the northern Gulf and passes through the Strait.

 to one million barrels per day (bpd), from the current figure of 400 to 450,000 bpd, he said.
“We also discussed with the Lebanese and Syrian sides activating the Baniyas-Tripoli pipeline,” which has been closed since 1990, he said.