ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Iraq is considering several alternative routes to export crude oil, including a plan to send oil from the Kirkuk fields directly to the Iraq-Turkey pipeline without passing through the Kurdistan Region, Oil Minister Hayyan Abdul Ghani said Monday, as the country seeks to restore exports halted by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

In a video statement, Abdul Ghani said Baghdad is discussing the possibility of exporting oil through the Ceyhan pipeline with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), while exploring additional routes through Baniyas in Syria and a transport corridor to Aqaba in Jordan.

He said Iraq has not yet reached an agreement with the Kurdish authorities to export oil from Kirkuk via the pipeline that passes through the Kurdistan Region, but negotiations are ongoing.

Aziz Ahmad, deputy chief of staff to Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, told The New Region that Erbil is open to reaching an understanding with Baghdad over Ceyhan, but stressed that it is contingent on the federal government lifting the trade embargo placed on the Region since the start of the year.

At the same time, the Iraqi oil ministry is working to rehabilitate a separate pipeline linking the Kirkuk oil fields directly to the Iraq-Turkey pipeline, according to the Iraqi minister.

Abdul Ghani said most rehabilitation work has been completed, with about 100 kilometers still undergoing hydrostatic testing, which could allow oil to be pumped from Kirkuk to Turkey within about a week once completed.

The search for alternative export routes comes after Iraqi crude exports stopped two to three days after the start of the regional war, when the Strait of Hormuz was closed to shipping.

Before the disruption, Iraq exported about 3.4 million barrels of oil per day from its southern ports, mainly through the Basra oil terminal, out of total production of around 4.4 million barrels per day, in line with its quota under OPEC.

Following the halt in exports, the oil ministry reduced production to about 1.5 million to 1.6 million barrels per day, mainly to supply domestic refineries and fuel power plants, according to the minister.

Abdul Ghani said Iraq is also expanding the use of its strategic pipeline system to move oil internally, increasing flows of Basra crude to northern refineries from 50,000-75,000 barrels per day previously to about 250,000 barrels per day.

The minister added that several major fields, including West Qurna 1, West Qurna 2, Majnoon, and Fayhaa, have temporarily halted production, while other fields continue operating to supply fuel and gas needed for electricity generation and domestic energy demand.