TotalEnergies is seeking a formal stake in an international consortium planning new Iraqi crude export pipelines through Syria and Turkey, as Baghdad accelerates efforts to reduce its dependence on the Strait of Hormuz.Chief executive Patrick Pouyanné has said the French energy group is in active discussions about joining the venture, which is led by Qatar-based UCC Holding and includes US oil major Chevron and investment firm TI Capital. Iraqi officials have already described TotalEnergies as part of the consortium, although the company’s precise equity interest and contractual role have not been publicly finalised.
The proposed network would connect southern Iraq’s Basra oil hub with Haditha in western Anbar province before branching towards Syria’s Mediterranean port of Baniyas and northwards towards Fishkhabur, providing access to Turkey’s Ceyhan export route. Iraq’s Oil Ministry has said the projects are intended to diversify export outlets and strengthen the resilience of the country’s crude transport system.
Talks gained additional momentum during Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Falih al-Zaidi’s official visit to Paris on September 13 and 14. A joint French-Iraqi declaration said TotalEnergies and Iraq had agreed to open discussions on several energy projects involving large-scale investment, while the two governments stressed the importance of diversifying regional export routes and supply chains.
Neither side disclosed the value or ownership structure of TotalEnergies’ possible participation in the pipeline consortium. The discussions therefore remain separate from a final investment decision, and key issues including financing, routing, construction contracts and security arrangements still require agreement.
Iraq and Syria signed a memorandum of understanding in Washington in July to advance rehabilitation and reconstruction of the cross-border crude corridor. Separate heads of agreement involving UCC, Chevron and TI Capital established a framework for technical and financial studies. The United States welcomed the project at the time and said the rehabilitated Iraq-Syria link was envisaged with an initial transport capacity of two million barrels a day.
Iraq has since pressed the consortium to move faster. Oil Minister Basim Mohammed Khudair has called for contracting procedures to be accelerated and for weekly meetings to settle the economic model, pipeline routes and other technical matters. The Basra-Haditha segment has been estimated by Iraqi authorities at about $4.6 billion and is designed to carry roughly 2.25 million barrels a day.
For TotalEnergies, the project would deepen an already substantial position in Iraq while addressing a vulnerability highlighted by disruption in the Gulf this year. The company said conflict-related shutdowns in Qatar, Iraq and offshore United Arab Emirates affected about 15 per cent of its oil and gas production at the end of March, while conditions around Hormuz continued to influence the scale of the impact through the second quarter.
Pouyanné had signalled the company’s interest before the latest Paris discussions. During TotalEnergies’ second-quarter earnings call in July, he said Iraq still relied fundamentally on Basra for exports through the Gulf and that the group was keen to participate in projects connecting Iraq to Syria where possible.
The diversification drive has become more urgent after wartime disruptions demonstrated how quickly restrictions around Hormuz can constrain Iraqi production and government revenue.
The pipeline plan also fits Syria’s effort to restore Baniyas as an energy transit centre. Syrian Petroleum Company officials have said the cross-border project could carry Iraqi crude to the Mediterranean and that construction could take about 30 months after a final contract is signed. The project would require substantial rehabilitation of infrastructure that has been out of service for years.
Security remains one of the principal obstacles. Any route through western Iraq and Syria would cross areas where militant activity has persisted, raising questions about physical protection, insurance and long-term operating costs. Syrian officials have discussed surveillance technology and other measures for protecting the corridor, but no comprehensive security framework has been announced.
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