Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Syria is providing a path for Iraqi petroleum exports to circumvent the dangerous Strait of Hormuz, with a fleet of tanker trucks lining up to transport oil overland to Baniyas port on the Mediterranean Sea.
In an interview with Bloomberg News, Yousef Qiblawy, CEO of the state-owned Syrian Petroleum Co., said that the Iraqi government has urged Syria to assist with crude exports in addition to existing fuel oil shipments.
“I expect Iraqi oil exports via Syria by tanker trucks to begin as soon as possible, as the agreement between the two countries is nearly finalized,” Qiblawy stated.
“Hopefully, by mid-October, the first convoy of tanker trucks carrying Iraqi oil will arrive in Syria,” Qiblawy added.
The logistical strategy would strengthen Syria’s position as a safe transit point for oil shipments from Iraq, which were hampered by the regional conflict that began at the end of February, as well as supplies from neighboring producers.
Iraq already uses a fleet of tanker trucks to transport part of its fuel oil to Syria’s Mediterranean port of Baniyas, where it is loaded onto vessels to be sold to global markets.
Baghdad is aiming to boost its oil income after the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz severely affected its economy.
Additionally, Iraqi oil shipments started flowing to Jordan in early August through the Trebil border crossing, the only land border crossing between the two countries, at a rate of 10,000 barrels per day.
The Iraqi oil is stored in the facilities of the Jordan Oil Terminals Company (JOTC), Jordan’s state-owned petroleum logistics and independent storage provider, before it is shipped to customers.
Syrian Petroleum Co. intends to provide storage tanks for Iraqi oil near Baniyas, according to Qiblawy, who spoke on the sidelines of the Energy Intelligence Forum in London this week.
The quantities transported to Syria account for a minor percentage of Iraq’s total oil exports, which the government claimed averaged around 2.7 million barrels per day last month.
