Kuwait and Qatar plan to use Iraqi pipelines as an alternative route for oil exports, Arab Times reported citing Al-Anba.

The two countries could use the pipelines to export oil and gas shipments through Iraqi Kurdistan to a Turkish port, however, the plan is reportedly still under study, according to the Kuwaiti newspaper.

There are also concerns over a surge in oil prices due to the rising tensions in the Middle East due to the US sanctions on Iran, and Tehran threatening to block crude oil shipments passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

More than 18.5 million barrels of oil and petroleum products were moved every day through the Strait of Hormuz from the Arabian Gulf in 2016, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).