Iraq has launched a pilot operation to transport crude oil from its southern fields by truck to a storage facility in Kirkuk, seeking to increase supplies to the northern export system and boost shipments through Türkiye’s Ceyhan port, according to Reuters.
The trial, conducted from September 13 for two days, moved slightly more than 6 million liters of crude, equivalent to about 38,000 barrels, using 209 tanker trucks, each with a capacity of 30,000 liters. The Iraqi Oil Ministry contracted local company KAR Group to carry out the operation, while Basra Oil Company confirmed the arrangement.
Iraqi Oil Ministry spokesperson Saleem al-Rikabi said transported volumes would depend on the number of available trucks, loading capacity, road conditions, security clearances and other logistical factors.
Crude flows from northern Iraq to Ceyhan currently stand at around 200,000 barrels per day (bbl/d), down from approximately 250,000 bbl/d before the regional conflict, according to Iraqi Oil Ministry figures cited by Reuters.
The trucking initiative is intended to provide additional crude for the northern export system by moving oil produced in the southern fields to Kirkuk, where it can enter the infrastructure feeding the Iraq-Türkiye pipeline.
However, Iraqi officials and industry sources said the initial volumes remain too small to increase northern exports materially. Limited truck availability and constrained loading infrastructure at southern oilfields are among the main obstacles to scaling up the operation.
The move comes as Iraq seeks to reduce its exposure to disruptions affecting the Strait of Hormuz, through which the bulk of its crude exports traditionally pass. Reuters reported earlier in September that Iraq was pursuing alternative export infrastructure, including planned pipelines linking its southern oil hub of Basra with Türkiye and Syria.
The proposed network would have a combined capacity of around 2.25 million barrels per day (mmbbl/d), potentially allowing Iraq to move a substantial share of its pre-conflict exports through routes outside Hormuz. Iraq exported nearly 3.4 mmbbl/d before the conflict, with the majority moving through the strait.
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