Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Iraq has initiated a trial operation to transport crude oil using tanker trucks from its southern oil fields to a storage facility in Kirkuk, an effort that aims to enhance oil supplies destined for the Turkish port of Ceyhan.
This initiative is part of a broader Iraqi effort to increase oil flows through the northern export route after the US-Israeli war against Iran disrupted Iraqi shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, the country’s main export channel.
The spokesperson for the Iraqi Oil Ministry, Salim al-Rikabi, said that the ministry has reached a deal with Iraq-based KAR Group to transport crude oil using its fleet of tanker trucks. This arrangement was confirmed in a statement issued by the state-owned Basra Oil Company (BOC).
BOC stated that the trial operation began on September 13 and lasted two days, during which slightly over six million liters of crude oil, equivalent to about 38,000 barrels, were transported on 209 tanker trucks, each with a capacity of 30,000 liters.
According to Oil Ministry estimates, current oil flows from northern Iraq to the Turkish port of Ceyhan are believed to be around 200,000 barrels per day, a decrease from roughly 250,000 before the Iran conflict.
According to BOC sources, the project faces logistical obstacles such as a shortage of tanker trucks and inadequate loading facilities in the southern oil fields. The initial volumes remain too small to allow for a significant increase in exports from north Iraq.
