ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq begins exporting an additional 90,000 barrels of oil per day through the Kurdistan Region’s pipeline to Turkey, a move aimed at increasing total flows to global markets to 340,000 bpd amid the escalating regional tensions, Rudaw has learned.
Starting Monday, crude oil from fields in central and southern Iraq is being transported to the K1 storage facility in Kirkuk, where it will be combined with approximately 250,000 bpd from Kirkuk fields before being sent through the Kurdistan Region pipeline to Turkey’s port of Ceyhan.
The increase follows upgrades at the K1 facility, where the state-run North Oil Company (NOC) completed the installation and testing of new booster pumps on Sunday to address previous capacity limitations caused by ageing infrastructure.
The decision to route more oil through the Kurdistan Region comes after exports from southern Basra ports were halted on February 28 due to escalating tensions after the United States and Israel launched a large-scale military operation against Iran, which led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz - a key waterway where 20 percent of the global oil passes.
On March 18, Iraq resumed oil exports through the Kurdistan Region’s pipeline to Turkey after a three-year halt caused by a ruling from a Paris-based arbitration court that had fully suspended the Region’s oil shipments.
An official source at the NOC told Rudaw on the condition of anonymity that the recent step to boost exports "is intended to increase Kirkuk's oil exports through the Kurdistan Region pipeline to Turkey, which currently stands at 250,000 barrels per day; an additional 90,000 barrels are scheduled to be added."
According to the same source, the K1 station is now prepared to handle the increased volumes. "As of Monday, the K1 storage facility will be ready to receive those 90,000 barrels, which are expected to be transported daily via 400 to 450 tankers," the source said.
Amer Khalil, director general of the NOC, confirmed to the Iraqi News Agency (INA) that the upgrades have doubled the station’s pumping capacity. The improvements increase throughput from 45,000 bpd to 90,000 bpd, with the additional crude destined for export to Turkey.
The K1 facility, which has a storage capacity of nearly three million barrels, plays a key role in gathering oil from major Kirkuk fields, including Bay Hasan, Khabbaz, Jambour, and Kirkuk.
Kirkuk’s four main oil fields have a combined production capacity exceeding 300,000 bpd. Of this, around 60,000 bpd is sent to the Baiji refinery, while between 10,000 and 15,000 bpd is transported by tanker to Jordan at below-market prices.
Iraq requires approximately 3.5 million bpd in exports to meet its financial obligations. In addition to the northern route through Turkey, the country is also exporting limited volumes via tanker shipments through the newly opened al-Waleed border crossing with Syria.
Hastyar Qadir contributed to this report from Erbil.
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