Iraq is seeking to reopen its crude oil pipeline from its southern oilfields through Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea port of Yunbu, Zawya wrote.

Iraqi Oil Minister, Adel Abdul Mahdi told Iraqi daily, Al Sabah that the plan is yet to be activated, but “the Iraqi oil ministry started taking steps to revive the Iraq-Saudi Arabia export pipeline, as part of a plan to diversify its export outlets.” According to a Ministry’s spokesperson, Iraqi oil and gas fields are expected to boost production in the next few years, which requires finding many export routes.

The 626km pipeline was built in the 1980s during the Iraq-Iran war specifically to diversify Iraq’s exports outlets, as oil tankers carrying Iraqi crude were being attacked by the Iranians at the time, added Reuters. It was only the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990 that led to Saudi Arabia shutting down the pipeline.