Iraq’s Ministry of Oil announced today, Friday, May 8, what it described as a “broad” plan to export fuel oil, locally referred to as “black oil.”
Ministry spokesperson Sahib Bazoun told the Iraqi News Agency (INA) that the Ministry of Oil is exporting fuel oil by tanker trucks through Syria’s Baniyas port (Tartus governorate, western Syria), confirming that timetables have been set to implement the plan.
Bazoun revealed a plan to export fuel oil based on recent data, explaining that some refineries process fuel oil, the residue of crude oil extraction, through physical cracking.
The spokesperson added that refineries operating through physical cracking aim to produce petroleum derivatives, including high-octane gasoline, noting that this type is in global demand.
He also pointed out that the plan is linked to securing the financial liquidity needed to open new outlets for exporting oil in general.
Iraqi Delegation Visits Damascus
A delegation from Iraq’s Ministry of Oil, headed by North Oil Company Director General Amer Khalil Ahmed, visited the Iraqi Embassy in Damascus and met with the embassy’s chargé d’affaires.
The visit came to discuss prospects for cooperation with the Syrian side regarding the restart of the Iraqi-Syrian oil pipeline, according to an announcement by the Media and Government Communication Office at Iraq’s Ministry of Oil on Thursday, May 7.
Iraqi Shipping Office at Baniyas Port
During the meeting, the two sides discussed procedures for opening an Iraqi shipping office at Syria’s Baniyas port, which would contribute to strengthening Iraqi oil export operations and expanding marketing outlets, as part of efforts to develop infrastructure for the oil transport and export sector.
The delegation included representatives from the Pipeline Company, the technical department, and the department of studies, planning, and follow-up.
Iraqi Oil Supplies Rerouted to al-Yarubiyah Crossing
On May 2, the Syrian Petroleum Company announced that it had raised the operational capacity for unloading Iraqi oil tankers at Baniyas refinery to 30%, in conjunction with rerouting oil supplies entering Syrian territory to the Rabiya-al-Yarubiyah border crossing (northeastern Syria) as an alternative route.
The number of Iraqi oil tankers unloaded at Baniyas refinery has reached about 500 tankers per day, up from only 300 tankers, after operational capacity was raised by activating new unloading yards, according to Enab Baladi’s correspondent in Tartus. This equals nearly 120,000 barrels per day.
This came after engineering and logistical work improved unloading routes and enabled direct pumping into storage tanks, increasing operational capacity by 30% and saving about 40 working hours.
The Syrian Petroleum Company said in a statement that the step comes “as part of strengthening work readiness and accelerating the pace of supply, as a result of improving unloading routes and enabling direct pumping into the designated tanks, which reflects positively on the speed of completion and the continuity of market supply.”
Syrian Petroleum Explains Rerouting
Safwan Sheikh Ahmad, director of corporate communications at the Syrian Petroleum Company, revealed that the route for these shipments had been shifted to the al-Yarubiyah crossing, passing along the M4 road toward Baniyas, instead of the original route through the al-Tanf crossing, according to remarks carried by the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).
Sheikh Ahmad explained that the measure is purely logistical and aims to “shorten the distance and time and ensure the rapid arrival of supplies, without entailing any change in the nature of the contracts or the materials previously agreed upon.”
Iraq began exporting crude oil through Syrian territory via the al-Waleed border crossing in April.
At the time, Syria’s Ministry of Energy explained that the shipments were being unloaded into the designated tanks inside the refinery, ahead of their transfer to the Baniyas oil terminal and loading onto maritime tankers allocated for export, according to available capacity and operating mechanisms that reflect the readiness of national infrastructure to manage this type of operation, according to the ministry.
Iraq is currently working to expand crude oil export outlets through Syria’s Baniyas port on the Mediterranean Sea, making it an important transit point and gateway to European and American markets.
The step comes amid the continuing crisis caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the American-Israeli war against Iran, which led to a decline of about 80% in Iraqi oil exports during March.
Iraqi oil production also fell from more than four million barrels per day to nearly 1.1 million barrels, causing oil revenues to drop by about 70%.
In response, the Iraqi government moved quickly under an emergency plan to maintain minimum export flows by restarting the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline, activating temporary land transport with Syria, and coordinating regionally to facilitate the passage of exports through alternative outlets.
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