Iraq Aims To Reopen Kirkuk-Turkey Oil Pipeline Bypassing Kurdistan

Iraq’s Oil Minister Jabbar Al-Luiebi has ordered state-held oil and pipeline companies to begin restoring oil flows from Kirkuk to Turkish port Ceyhan via a pipeline that bypasses Kurdistan, increasing pressure on the breakaway region that voted for independence last month in a referendum strongly opposed and deemed illegal and invalid by the federal government. Al-Luiebi has asked North Oil Company, the State Company for Oil Projects (SCOP), and Iraq’s state pipeline company to restore the pipeline to full operation, according to a…