The offers embody rebuilding the long-defunct Iraq-Syria crude oil pipeline, which may bypass the Strait of Hormuz.
Revealed On 18 Jul 2026
Iraq has struck dozens of agreements and partnerships with American firms, many within the oil sector, throughout a go to to the USA by Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi.
“A complete of 48 agreements, memoranda of understanding, cooperation agreements and partnership declarations have been signed between private and non-private sector entities in Iraq and the USA,” the Iraqi chief’s media workplace mentioned on Saturday.
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They embody “cooperation and partnerships involving the ministries of oil and electrical energy … with ExxonMobil, KBR, GE Vernova, Shell and Halliburton”, in addition to a number of offers associated to the development of a serious crude oil pipeline between Iraq and Syria.
Iraq additionally signed a cope with Starlink, which dominates the worldwide satellite tv for pc communications sector, to introduce companies to the nation.
The preliminary offers, signed at a US-Iraq enterprise summit on the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington on Friday, come as Baghdad seeks to maneuver away from dependence on the Strait of Hormuz, the place delivery and oil exports have been closely disrupted as a result of US-Israel warfare towards Iran.
Iraq and Syria signed a cooperation settlement to reconstruct the long-defunct Iraq-Syria oil pipeline, which runs from the oil-rich Kirkuk area in northern Iraq to Syria’s Mediterranean port of Baniyas.
Iraq’s state information company reported that main US vitality firm Chevron would perform the challenge underneath the settlement.
The US Division of State mentioned it welcomed Iraq and Syria’s plan to rehabilitate the pipeline, for which a “US-led worldwide consortium” would “execute the technical and monetary elements”.
“Upon rehabilitation, this groundbreaking challenge may have an preliminary transport capability of two million barrels per day of crude oil,” the division’s assertion mentioned. It described the pipeline as “a important vitality hall linking Iraqi oil manufacturing to Mediterranean export markets and past”.
‘Make Hormuz an afterthought’
The US ambassador to Turkiye, Tom Barrack, mentioned Iraq’s newest oil pipeline agreements would result in a programme “that may make the Strait of Hormuz an afterthought”.
Along with the Syria pipeline challenge, Chevron signed two different agreements with Iraq targeted on boosting oil manufacturing, based on the corporate’s president of company enterprise growth, Jake Spiering.
In complete, Iraq’s preliminary agreements with US companies, spanning the vitality, healthcare and expertise sectors are price greater than $60 billion, Reuters reported.
“We’re utilizing an open-door coverage,” al-Zaidi mentioned on the enterprise summit. “Everyone who has a challenge can come and speak to us. We is not going to make it troublesome for anybody.”
