The report of the British website "Middle East Eye", quoting high-level Iraqi and regional officials, revealed that the official announcement of the agreement to revive the 800-kilometer "Kirkuk-Baniyas" pipeline is expected next week.
The sources confirmed that this announcement will coincide with the official visit of Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi to the US capital Washington to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House, where his tour includes a visit to the state of Texas, which is the main center of the US energy sector.
The U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Syria and Iraq, Tom Barak, is leading the final logistical and political arrangements for the completion of this international agreement.
The sources indicated that Barak has succeeded in building a close working relationship with the Iraqi prime minister, and seeks to adopt this oil pipeline as a leading model for trade and economic integration projects in the Levant region, which serves the interests of both the United States and the governments of the region by involving major American companies in the reconstruction and rehabilitation phase of the pipeline.
Circumvention of the Strait of Hormuz
The sources added that US envoy Tom Barak views the restart of the vital pipeline as a practical and advanced model for economic and commercial integration projects in the Levant region, a strategic vision that he has previously called for on several occasions to enhance economic interdependence and stability between the countries of the region by linking common energy interests. and
The same reports indicated that Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani expects to visit the United States to officially participate in the signing ceremony of the international agreement, if the final arrangements are completed and the remaining diplomatic obstacles between the parties concerned are overcome, which represents a significant political breach in the course of regional and international relations.
The regional officials confirmed to MEE that the main motivations behind the US enthusiasm for the restart of the Kirkuk-Banias line go beyond economic dimensions to major strategic goals, on top of which is the desire of Washington and Baghdad to reduce Tehran's influence and limit its control over global energy corridors, specifically in the Strait of Hormuz, where this strategic line will provide Iraq with a direct and safe land corridor for the export of oil from the northern fields to the Mediterranean Sea through Syrian territory, away from the ongoing tensions and military threats in the waters of Syria The Arabian Gulf.
Historical Path and Challenges of Securing Infrastructure
The media sources revealed that diplomatic moves have witnessed a great acceleration in this context, as the Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Asaad Al-Shaibani, met with the US envoy Tom Barak in official meetings that included the Istanbul meeting, to discuss a package of strategic files and build the foundations of a new phase of cooperation between Damascus and Washington.
The Iraqi prime minister also discussed with Barak in Baghdad the activation of the memorandum of understanding signed with TI Capital, a specialized company tasked with starting the rehabilitation and maintenance of the damaged pipeline infrastructure.
The line was first established in 1952 by the Iraqi Oil Company with an initial capacity of about 300,000 barrels per day, but its closure was repeated over the decades due to political disputes and wars, and it became completely out of service after suffering severe damage during the US invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Energy experts and analysts from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy said the revival of the project faces challenges on the ground: the need to secure hundreds of miles of pipelines across vast desert areas between eastern Syria and western Iraqi fields, requiring extensive intelligence and security coordination to ensure that facilities are protected from sabotage attacks.
The Kirkuk-Baniyas pipeline is one of the oldest and most important crude oil export lines in the Middle East, as it was established in the 1930s to transport Iraqi oil from Kirkuk's northern oil-rich fields directly to the Syrian port of Baniyas overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, giving it a strategic advantage and a significant shortcut to maritime shipping lanes.
Historical data showed that the line has been almost completely shut down since 2003 following the American invasion of Iraq and the damage to infrastructure, then the opportunities to restart it and pump oil in it faded with the outbreak of events in Syria in 2011 and the deterioration of the security situation along the common border. Regional Infrastructure.
The project to revive the Kirkuk-Baniyas line comes at a time when countries in the region are looking for safe and economical alternatives to energy transmission amid ongoing tensions in waterways, and this new U.S. approach represents a pragmatic shift aimed at using energy and economic files as tools to achieve regional stability and reconnect critical infrastructure networks between Damascus and Baghdad under the direct auspices of Washington.
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