The KirkukâÂÂCeyhan Oil Pipeline, also known as the IraqâÂÂTurkey Crude Oil Pipeline, is a pipeline that runs from Kirkuk in Iraq to Ceyhan in Turkey. It is Iraq's largest crude oil export line.
The pipeline consists of two pipes with diameters of and and designed capacity of respectively. Usable capacity of the line is believed to be only , with significant repairs still required.
The line's Iraqi part has been a principal sabotage target since 2003. On 26 October 2009, a blast near Mosul halted oil supplies through the pipeline. On 16 August 2013, at around 0100 GMT near the al-Shura area 60 km to the south of the city of Mosul a bomb attack damaged the pipeline. On 3 September 2013, at around 0200 GMT near Ein al-Jahash area, a bomb attack damaged the pipeline.
In 2013, the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq completed a pipeline from the Taq Taq oil field through Khurmala (the northwest sector dome of the greater Kirkuk field) and Duhok to Pesh Khabur (Fesh Khabur) on the Turkey-Iraq border, where it is connected to the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline. This diameter pipeline has capacity of . It allows the export of oil from the Taq Taq and Tawke oil fields. On 23 May 2014, the Kurdistan Regional Government announced that the first oil transported via the new pipeline was loaded into a tanker at Ceyhan. In 2014, Iraq considered building a new KirkukâÂÂCeyhan pipeline to bypass attack-prone areas and double the export capacity. The large value of oil has political implications in a complex region.
In March 2023, the International Chamber of Commerce arbitration service ruled that the pumping agreement between the Kurdistan Region and the Turkish government was illegal, causing the pumping of petroleum products to and from the Kurdistan Region to cease. In August 2024, the North Oil Company carried out repairs to the pipeline to allow it to resume operations. By June 2025, the pause had caused a loss of around $25 billion. On 27 September 2025, the pipeline resumed operations after an interim agreement was reached between Iraq's federal oil ministry, the natural resources ministry of the Kurdistan Region, and international oil companies operating in the region.
The 2026 Iran War launched by the United States and Israel resulted in the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, obstructing much of Iraq's normal export flow of 3.5 million barrels per day. As of March 18, Iraq announced it was exporting 250,000 bpd through the pipeline. The pipeline contract with Turkey expires July 2026.