Iraqi Oil Minister: We are communicating with Iran to allow the passage of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz

Iraqi Minister Hayyan Abdul Ghani confirmed that his country is in contact with Iran to allow the passage of some oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz as part of its efforts to ease the impact of the disruption of crude exports following the latest attacks on oil tankers in Iraqi territorial waters.

Ghani said Iraq was also seeking to resume operation of a stalled pipeline that would allow oil to be pumped directly to the Turkish port of Ceyhan without passing through the Kurdistan region.

The reopening of the 960-kilometre Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline, which has been closed for more than 10 years, would provide an alternative route at a time when navigation through the strategic Strait of Hormuz is severely disrupted by the situation in the region.

The oil ministry says  exports through the pipeline could initially reach about 250,000 barrels per day, rising to about 450,000 barrels per day if  crude oil is added from the Kurdistan region's fields.

The Iraqi minister revealed that his country's crude oil production is about 4.4 million barrels per day according to the quota set by OPEC, adding that "in light of the military operations in the Arabian Gulf region, the cessation of oil exports and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, we have not been able to export the necessary amount of crude oil."

Reports indicate that Iraq used to export about 3 million and 400 thousand barrels per day through the southern export ports, which is the oil port of Basra, but in light of the military operations and the closure of the strait, exports stopped two or three days after the start of the war in the region, forcing the Ministry of Oil to reduce production from oil fields.