Kurdistan Oil Pipeline

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Kurdistan Oil Pipeline is an oil pipeline in Iraq.

Location

The pipeline runs from the Taq Taq oil field in the Kurdistan region of Iraq to Pesh Khabur (Fish Khabur), on the Turkey-Iraq border.

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Project Details

• Operator: Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)
• Current capacity: 700,000 barrels per day
• Length:
• Status: Operating
• Start Year: 2013

Background

In 2013, the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq completed a pipeline from the Taq Taq field through Khurmala (the northwest sector dome of the greater Kirkuk field) and Dahuk to Pesh Khabur (Fesh Khabur) on the Turkey-Iraq border, where it is connected to the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline. This 36-inch (910 mm) diameter pipeline has capacity of 150,000 barrels per day (24,000 m3/d). It allows the export of oil from the Taq Taq and Tawke oil fields.

On 23 May 2014, the Kurdistan Regional Government announced that the first oil transported via the new pipeline was loaded into a tanker at Ceyhan.

Pipeline Conversion

The pipeline was originally intended to carry gas from near Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan region, to a new power station serving the northern city of Dohuk. As recently as December 2012, Kurdish regional government officials asserted that the line would be ready for use in February or March, making Dohuk the third Kurdish power station to receive gas from the Khor Mor gas field in southern Kurdistan.

However, due to the Kirkuk-Ceyhan's dysfunction and lack of security , the KRG was prompted to find an alternative. Before the pipeline was completed, oil was being transported by trucks to the border rather than sending it through the Kirkuk-Ceyhan line. The gas pipeline has now been converted into an oil pipeline measuring 180 kilometers, from Khurmala Dome to the border at Fishkhabur. The line is also connected to a 81 kilometer pipeline from the Taq Taq fields.

Route

The Kurdistan Oil Pipeline begins at the Taq Taq oil fields and feeds into the pipeline system from Kirkuk to Khurmala. From Khurmala, the pipeline travels to Dohuk and then terminates further North on the Turkish border at Fishkabur, where it feeds into the original Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline.

Potential Shutdown

2017: Shortly after the referendum on Kurdish independence in Northern Iraq, which had a yes vote from over 90% of the population, Turkish President Erdoğan threatened to shut down the pipeline on its side of the border. Turkey declared it would only do so in congruence with Iran and the Central government of Iraq. The sudden reversal of relations between the KRG and the Turkish government has come only several months after Russian company Rosneft signed a memorandum of understanding with the KRG to significantly expand the pipeline's capacity. The new agreement included rights to more oil exploration in addition to expanding the pipeline.

Expansion Project Details

• Operator: Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)
• Proposed capacity: 250,000 barrels per day
• Length:
• Status: Shelved
• Start Year:

Expansion Background

In October of 2017, Rosneft announced a planned expansion project that would increase the pipeline system’s capacity from 700,000 bpd to 950,000 bpd. There have been no development updates since then.

There have been no development updates since 2017 and the project is presumed to be shelved.

Articles and resources

External articles

Wikipedia also has an article on Kurdistan Oil Pipeline. This article may use content from the Wikipedia article under the terms of the GFDL.