Iraq and Syria sign up to rebuild a crude pipeline to the Mediterranean, with Chevron in the consortium

Iraq sends almost all of its crude out through the Persian Gulf, which means through the Strait of Hormuz. An agreement signed in Washington is meant to give it a second way out.

The State Department said on July 17 that the United States welcomes the intent of the governments of Iraq and Syria to advance the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the Iraq-Syria crude oil pipeline, calling it a priority infrastructure project of bilateral and regional strategic significance. The media note puts initial transport capacity at 2 million barrels a day once the line is rebuilt. It also welcomes the engagement of what it describes as a United States led international consortium to execute the technical and financial aspects of the project.

The consortium named in the parties' own announcement is UCC Concessions, which is Qatari based, together with Chevron and TI Capital. The signing took place at the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington, with Iraq's prime minister present. That announcement describes a framework to assess, develop, finance and implement an onshore pipeline corridor linking Iraqi crude oil production with export and delivery infrastructure on Syria's Mediterranean coast.

What exists so far is paper. The documents are memoranda of understanding, the technical and financial studies are named as the next step, and neither government nor the consortium has published a cost, a route survey or a construction timetable.