ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iraq’s oil ministry on Tuesday said that oil exports through the rehabilitated Kirkuk-Turkey pipeline are set to commence soon, with a capacity of 1.6 million barrels per day, state media reported. 

Sahib Bazoun, spokesperson for the oil ministry, told state media that the Kirkuk-Turkey pipeline, which passes through the Kurdistan Region’s Faysh Khabur, “is about to be put into service and the flow of specific quantities will be allowed initially.”

“The pipeline has a capacity of 1.6 million barrels, and will enter service after the completion of the hydrostatic test,” Bazoun said. 

Iraq has struggled to export its oil since the US-Israeli war on Iran began in late February. The country is heavily reliant on oil exports, and the drop in production has significantly affected its economy. 

But the country has sought methods to alleviate its difficulties in exporting through the blockaded Strait of Hormuz by reaching an agreement with the Kurdistan Region to use its pipeline to export oil through Turkey’s Ceyhan port.

It has also begun using additional land routes through the Baniyas port in Syria, with Bazoun saying that “export operations via tankers to Syria, reaching the port of Baniyas, are continuing.”

As a result of the conflict and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Iraq exported 18.6 million barrels of crude oil in March, generating about $1.95 billion in revenue, marking a steep plunge compared to February’s 99.8 million barrels that raked in $6 billion.