The Iraqi Council of Ministers on Tuesday (June 2nd) approved an agreement to export Iraqi oil through Syrian ports, in a move that is considered one of the most prominent trade agreements between Baghdad and Damascus in 15 years.
The Iraqi Prime Minister's Media Office announced in a statement posted on Facebook that the Council approved the authorization of the Iraqi Ministry of Oil to officially contract with the Syrian side to transport, store and handle Iraqi crude oil of various types (Basra light, medium, and heavy) through the ports of Baniyas and Tartus.
Oil deal opens new corridor to Mediterranean
The decision also included the opening of a representative office of the Iraqi Ministry of Oil inside Syria, which will manage export operations and supervise the new logistical route, which is expected to constitute a strategic outlet for Iraq to European and Mediterranean markets.
The development comes within the framework of a government plan to raise oil exports by truck to 420,000 barrels per day in three phases, in parallel with increasing exports through pipelines and raising the country's overall export capacity.
The first step to export in April
At the beginning of April, the first Iraqi fuel convoys entered Syrian territory through the Al-Tanf port towards the Baniyas refinery, in preparation for their export to global markets, as part of the emphasis on Syria's pivotal regional role and strategic location as a vital gateway to the Mediterranean.
This step was the first practical implementation of the oil understandings between the two countries, and paved the way for the activation of the comprehensive agreement approved today.
Advanced talks between the two countries
The year 2025 witnessed a series of official talks between the oil ministries of the two countries, focusing on the rehabilitation and operation of the Kirkuk-Baniyas pipeline, which has been suspended since 2003, and the study of the construction of a new pipeline linking Iraq to the Syrian coast.
In May 2026, the Iraqi Ministry of Oil announced the launch of a strategic project to extend an oil pipeline from Basra to Haditha with a length of 700 kilometers, with a capacity of 2.5 million barrels per day, with the aim of later linking it to a line reaching the port of Baniyas, in a step thatis considered the largest operation to reconnect Iraq with Syria through a direct export pipeline.
It also discussed the possibility of linking Iraq to Syria and then Tripoli to Lebanon through a joint oil route, in addition to enhancing technical cooperation between the two countries' oil companies.