One Of The Largest Oil Exporters Has Found An Alternative To The Strait Of Hormuz
- 7.10.2026, 21:36
Iraq may begin shipping oil through Syria.
Syria is ready to provide a land route for the export of Iraqi oil, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz, which would allow it to be shipped to the port of Baniyas on the Mediterranean Sea. This was reported by the head of the Syrian Petroleum Co. Yousef Kiblavi in an interview with Bloomberg.
According to him, Iraqi authorities have asked the Syrian government to assist with the export of crude oil in addition to existing fuel oil shipments.
“I expect the export of Iraqi oil by truck through Syria to begin as soon as possible, since the agreement between the two countries’ governments is nearly finalized. I hope that by mid-October, the first convoy of trucks carrying crude oil will arrive in Syria,” Kiblavi said.
Iraqi fuel oil is already being delivered by truck to the Syrian port of Bayanis, where it is loaded onto tankers for further export. Kiblawi clarified that about 1,000 trucks are involved in transporting fuel oil daily, each capable of carrying about 220 barrels.
““I think there will be at least as many trucks carrying crude oil as there are carrying fuel oil—or even more than 1,000 trucks a day—because the volume of Iraqi crude oil is much greater than that of fuel oil,” added the head of the Syrian company.
As Bloomberg notes, Iraq is seeking to increase its revenue from oil sales after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz dealt a severe blow to its finances. Baghdad also uses a route through Jordan to deliver fuel oil, and, according to traders, small volumes of crude oil are transported in the same way.
In Syria’s case, the overland transport of oil through its territory will strengthen Damascus’s status as a gateway for the safe passage of oil flows from Iraq.
The bulk of Iraq’s oil exports is shipped from southern fields via terminals in the Basra area, after which tankers proceed through the Strait of Hormuz. In 2025, approximately 3.3 million barrels of Iraqi oil per day passed through the strait. The northern export route runs along the Kirkuk–Ceyhan pipeline through Turkey to the Mediterranean Sea; however, operations on this route have been suspended since 2023.
Iraq is one of the world’s largest oil exporters and the second-largest oil producer in OPEC after Saudi Arabia. In 2024, the country produced about 4.4 million barrels of oil per day, and maritime exports totaled more than 3.2 million barrels per day; about 72% of exported oil went to Asia, primarily to China and India. According to EIA data, in 2025, Iraq ranked fifth in the world in crude oil production—about 4.39 million barrels per day.