/ Reuters Agency
Iraq is preparing to export crude oil and gasoline through ports in Syria, according to Syrian and Iraqi energy officials and refinery sources, after the war with Iran cut off its main maritime routes in the Gulf due to the blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.
This measure would expand an agreement that has allowed Iraq to send fuel oil through the Mediterranean terminal of Baniyas, following the effective closure of the waterway, which drastically reduced export routes to the Gulf for the second-largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Two Iraqi oil officials stated that plans to diversify crude and fuel export routes, including through Syria, will continue even after the war with Iran ends and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz returns to normal, as part of a government-approved strategy to reduce Iraq’s dependence on a single export corridor.
“The Iraqi government and the Ministry of Oil attach the utmost importance to diversifying crude export routes, particularly through Syrian territory,” said Saleem al-Rikabi, spokesman for the Iraqi Ministry of Oil.
Rikabi stated that the Ministry of Oil, through the state-owned oil marketing company SOMO, continues “talks and cooperation” with Syria to expand exports through its western neighbor.
Iraq normally exports a total of around 3.6 million barrels of oil per day, and before the war with Iran, about 3.4 million barrels per day flowed through its southern terminals in Basra.
Mohammed Al-Ahdab, head of the press office of the Syrian Petroleum Company (SPC), stated that operations and unloading continued, despite the anticipated opening of the strait.
Before the disruption caused by the war with Iran, Iraq mainly exported its fuel oil from the Port of Khor al-Zubair in the Persian Gulf, but the conflict has forced it to seek alternative routes after the strait was closed and storage facilities began to fill up.
The initial temporary solution, which began operating in April, involved transporting millions of barrels of Iraqi fuel oil by truck through Syria to Baniyas and re-exporting them from there.
Syria plans to open two additional unloading zones and other facilities in Baniyas within a week to handle Iraqi crude oil and gasoline, according to a Syrian Ministry of Energy official. Ahdab indicated that Baniyas now has the capacity to unload an average of 900 tanker trucks per day.
According to two Iraqi Ministry of Oil officials, once the loading facilities are ready, crude could begin crossing from Iraq to Syria at a rate of about 50,000 barrels per day.
No details were immediately released about the planned levels of gasoline exports.
According to Syrian and Iraqi officials, tanker truck exports are expected to begin in early July, while SOMO plans to open offices in Baniyas.
In April, SOMO awarded contracts to supply approximately 650,000 metric tons of fuel oil per month, from April to June, to be transported overland through Syria. Iraq exported a record 18 million tons of fuel oil in 2024, equivalent to approximately 1.5 million tons per month, and the best available data for 2025 shows they were approaching the levels reached at the end of 2024.
SPC Deputy Executive Director Ahmad Kobbaji said in May 2026 that Syria had limited infrastructure but was increasing its capacity to offload and re-export Iraqi fuel products.
Under the presidency of Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria seeks to reintegrate into the regional and global economy after decades of rule by the Assad family and nearly 14 years of war that devastated its economy and left it politically and financially isolated.
According to Iraqi Oil Ministry officials, Syria earns revenue from transit fees on fuel oil shipments, paid through buyers and intermediaries, rather than directly by SOMO. Reuters could not determine how much Syria earned or how such fees were collected.
LSEG shipping data showed that Iraqi fuel oil transported through Syria had reached destinations in Africa and Europe, with the latest tanker arriving in Alexandria, Egypt, on June 9.
The route to Baniyas is fraught with difficulties due to roads damaged by years of war, and Reuters reporters saw lines of Iraqi tanker trucks stretching over 30 kilometers (19 miles) along the road leading to the port.
In June, two Iraqi tanker trucks collided near Homs, spilling thousands of liters of fuel, while protesters in northeastern Syria blocked Iraqi tanker trucks to protest rising fuel prices and deteriorating living conditions.
A source at the Baniyas plant with direct knowledge of the transfers stated that Iraqi fuel oil is not processed at the refinery. Instead, tanker trucks unload at a maritime platform connected to storage tanks north of the refinery, from where the fuel is pumped directly to waiting export tankers.
Meanwhile, Syria is working on reactivating war-damaged pipelines to replace the tanker truck route, according to SPC’s Kobbaji in May. The Iraq-Syria pipeline can pump up to 300,000 barrels per day, a Syrian Energy Ministry official said.
