Overview
- Oil began flowing at 10:00 a.m. local time on March 18 through the Kirkuk–Ceyhan corridor after Baghdad and the KRG sealed a deal to resume shipments.
- Initial throughput is reported around 250,000 barrels per day, with some officials outlining a broader range of roughly 100,000 to 250,000 bpd from northern fields.
- The agreement creates a joint committee, sends revenues to the federal treasury, and includes security measures to protect fields and infrastructure.
- The route bypasses the Strait of Hormuz, where disruptions have slashed Iraq’s southern output by about 70%, leaving the resumed northern volumes too small to offset broader losses.
- Oil prices eased on the news, and Turkey’s energy minister proposed extending the pipeline to Basra to enable larger future flows as Iraq works to repair idle sections.