Iraq seeking contractor to revamp pipeline via Syria

 

By Marwan al-Ani

 

Azzaman, February 23, 2009

 

The Ministry of Oil is seeking foreign help to repair a rickety pipeline linking Iraqi oil fields to terminals in Syria, an official said.

 

The ministry’s Information Officer Assem Jihad said sections of the pipeline have corroded and needed replacement.

 

“The ministry has issued tenders for companies willing to do the repairs which will have to be carried out in coordination with the Syrian authorities,” Jihad said.

 

The ministry had contracted a Russian firm for the repairs but Jihad said the Russians reneged on promises and agreements to do the job.

 

If repaired, the pipeline should carry at least 200,000 barrels of Iraqi crude daily to international markets, the official said.

 

The pipeline is the oldest in Iraq and was constructed several decades ago to ship crude from northern fields of Kirkuk to Europe via Syria.

 

But the country’s domestic network is capable of ferrying crude produced in the north to the south and vice versa.