Land Routes in the Middle East

In July, Iraq and Syria signed memorandums of understanding in Washington to rebuild the Kirkuk-Baniyas oil pipeline, which has been defunct since the 1980s. Agreements were reached with a consortium led by Chevron, TI Capital and Qatar’s UCC Holding to conduct technical and financial studies.

Later, the U.S. Special Envoy to Syria and Iraq, Tom Barrack, set out a wider plan to coordinate with Syria, Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon and Egypt to transition from sea routes to alternative land routes for export of oil and gas. This project included the “Middle Corridor” running through Turkey, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan into Central Asia to carry natural gas destined for Europe…