Iraq-Syria Pipeline to Bypass Hormuz Still Four Years and $15 Billion Away

According to Oilprice.com, published Monday, August 17, 2026 (26 Mordad 1405) citing Reuters, the project to ship Iraqi crude to Syria's Mediterranean coast to bypass the Strait of Hormuz is still at least four years and $15 billion in investment away. Sources familiar with the project said the plan, backed by the US administration as a way to reduce Hormuz's importance and under feasibility review by a consortium that includes US supermajor Chevron, is moving forward even as Washington hopes to make Hormuz irrelevant within two years.

The existing pipeline, inactive for more than two decades, cannot be reused for the new project, meaning new infrastructure must be built. Youssef Qablawi, chief executive of the state owned Syrian Petroleum Company, had earlier said rebuilding the pipeline from Haditha in Iraq to Syria's Baniyas port would take at most three years, and that Iraq and Syria have begun negotiations to finalize a contract. The pipeline, expected to have a capacity of 1.5 to 2 million barrels per day, is considered strategically important for Iraqi oil exports independent of Hormuz and for Syria's postwar economy.