OIL PIPELINES

Situated at the crossroads of the Middle East and Europe, the Kurdistan Region is ideally positioned to become a significant contributor to the world's energy supply. As an increasing number of companies transition from exploration to production, Kurdistan is set to become an oil production hub for global energy markets.

The route for oil from Kurdistan’s producing fields has traditionally been the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline, via dual export lines. Today the Kurdistan Region is building a new export pipeline, capable of delivering 1 million barrels of oil per day by 2015 to the border with Turkey. Running from Khurmala to Fish Khabur at the Turkish border, the pipeline is expected to open at the end of September 2013, and initally will transport 150,000 barrels of oil per day. Acting as a strategic partner in the region, revenue from Kurdistan’s energy exports will be able to benefit all of Iraq.

Tying into the export infrastructure, a major new domestic 81-kilometre pipeline from Taq Taq to Khurmala has been completed. Up to 150,000 barrels of oil per day are set to flow from Taq Taq, one of the earliest fields to go into production, to Khurmala where it can link to the Erbil refinery and the export pipelines. The Taq Taq-Khurmala pipeline will help the Kurdistan Region to realise the full production and export potential of the producing Taq Taq field.