The U.S. urged the Iraqi government Wednesday to finalize an agreement with international oil companies to resume crude exports through the Iraq-Türkiye pipeline, which have been halted for around two years despite recent talks on the potential reopening of the flows.
"We are urging the Iraqi government to reach an agreement ... with the international oil companies to resume oil exports through the Iraq-Türkiye pipeline as soon as possible, and to honor the existing contracts with U.S. companies," State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters during a daily briefing.
"Reopening the ITP (Iraq-Türkiye Pipeline) ensures Iraqi oil can reach global markets, especially European ones. Iraq benefits from the stability of resilient supply chains as we all do," Bruce added.
Oil flow from Iraq to the Port of Ceyhan ceased on March 25, 2023, following an arbitration ruling by the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) concerning oil exports between Türkiye and Iraq.
The two-year standoff has halted flows from the semiautonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) region in northern Iraq to Türkiye's Mediterranean Port of Ceyhan.
Earlier this month, it was reported that the talks on the potential pipeline restart failed. One of the sources said that the main sticking point at a recent meeting was pricing.
Washington is applying pressure on Iraq to resume the exports, with Reuters reporting last month that U.S. President Donald Trump's administration had asked Iraq to allow the flows to restart or face sanctions.
Iraq had earlier said that all procedures had been completed to allow the resumption of flows from the KRG to Türkiye.
Washington wants the flows via Türkiye restarted partly to boost global supply and, therefore, help lower prices. At the same time, the U.S. administration wants to halt financial ties between Iraq and neighboring Iran as it applies pressure on Tehran over its oil exports and nuclear program.
Recently, a waiver allowing Iraq to buy electricity from Iran was also revoked by the Trump administration.
