Baghdad: Iraqi oil expert Hamza al-Jawahiri has expressed concerns over the Kirkuk-Banias pipeline rehabilitation project, labeling it a wasteful expenditure of public funds.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, al-Jawahiri criticized the project, highlighting that the pipeline, originally secured by Syria in 1972, has remained in disrepair and is ill-suited for crude oil transport. Instead, it has been relegated to transporting petroleum derivatives. He argued that the pipeline, operational since 1952, is outdated and unsuitable for rehabilitation, proposing that constructing a new pipeline is necessary-a venture that Syria is currently unable to undertake.

Al-Jawahiri further explained that Syria’s financial constraints mean Iraq would bear the costs of constructing a new pipeline, estimated to be no less than ten billion dollars, along with operational expenses and transportation fees payable to Syria. After 20 years, ownership of the pipeline would revert to Syria, should the contract last that long. Al-Jawahiri questioned Iraq’s rationale for investing in a pipeline that would benefit an unstable government, especially when Iraq’s Gulf pipeline already meets its export needs efficiently and at a significantly lower cost of 60 cents per barrel.

He underscored that the Gulf pipeline, with an export capacity exceeding six million barrels per day, adequately supports Iraq’s current and future production capacities. Al-Jawahiri reiterated that diverting resources to the Kirkuk-Banias project is unnecessary and financially imprudent, as the Gulf remains a secure and strategic outlet for Iraq’s oil exports, enjoying international protection and stability over the past 70 years.