Iraqi Oil Minister Basim Mohammed Khudair confirmed setting an export ceiling of up to 750,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) in the official agreement signed with the Turkish Ministry of Energy and Botas company. He noted that there are efforts to raise export volumes to 1.5 million barrels (Mmbbl) through a new framework agreement to be signed within a year.

Based on the government’s vision and its strategy to strengthen economic and developmental relations with neighboring Türkiye, and in light of the results of the Prime Minister’s visit, an official Iraqi delegation participated in Ankara in signing an agreement with the Turkish Ministry of Natural Resources and the Turkish oil and natural gas pipeline operator BOTAS to continue pumping and exporting oil through the Ceyhan pipeline for a full year, Khudair told the Iraqi News Agency (INA).

The Oil Minister explained that the previous agreement to transport oil through the Ceyhan pipeline had expired on July 26. The official negotiations between Baghdad and Ankara succeeded in reaching this new agreement, which ensures the sustainability and continuity of export operations. He added that this step represents a fundamental pillar for strengthening Iraq’s oil industry and securing strategic export outlets.

Khudair pointed out that the signed agreement sets a maximum ceiling for current export capacity at around 750,000 bbl/d, noting that the two sides aim, during this year, to prepare and draft a new framework agreement based on an update of the 1973 agreement, to raise the export ceiling and reach 1.5 mmbbl/d.

He added that oil and gas relations with Türkiye are not limited to the process of transporting oil through Ceyhan, but extend to broader investment horizons. Advanced discussions have been held on investing in and developing fields inside Iraq, as well as establishing strategic partnerships between Iraqi and Turkish companies across the upstream and downstream sectors.

Meanwhile, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar commented that Türkiye held a fruitful meeting at our ministry with the Iraqi Oil Minister and his accompanying delegation. Following the meeting, the two sides signed a one‑year agreement between Botas and the two Iraqi state‑owned oil companies, Iraq’s Oil Marketing Company (SOMO) and NOC, to ensure the optimal use of the crude oil pipeline between Iraq and Türkiye.

Bayraktar added that while the two sides continue working on a new long‑term agreement for this pipeline, which has served as a strategic energy corridor between the two countries for nearly half a century, they have implemented this transit agreement covering a capacity of 750,000 bbl/d.

He pointed out that this pipeline, which safely and uninterruptedly transports Iraqi oil to global markets via Ceyhan, has a more strategic position than ever before in terms of regional and global energy supply security, as is evident from developments in the world oil markets.

Bayraktar continued that the goal is to make the fullest possible use of this strong infrastructure and to achieve comprehensive, long‑term cooperation that would open a new era in Turkish‑Iraqi partnership in the energy sector, and in transporting Iraq’s and the region’s energy resources to global markets via Ceyhan.