Iraq invites companies for new pipeline to export oil via Turkey's Ceyhan port
A worker checks the valve gears of pipes linked to oil tanks at Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, which is run by state-owned Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAu015e) (Reuters File Photo)


Iraq has invited companies to submit statements of interest in building a new pipeline from the northern city of Kirkuk to Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan.

The state-run Oil Projects Company said Sunday the 350-kilometer (220-mile) pipeline will carry up to one million barrels a day. It says companies have until Jan. 24 to submit applications for pre-qualification.

It did not provide a timeline for the project, which will be offered under a build-own-operate-transfer scheme.

An existing 1.6 million barrel-per-day pipeline has been idle since early 2014, when it was badly damaged by terrorist attacks. The new pipeline would run parallel to it.

Iraqi forces drove the Daesh terrorist group out of northern Iraq earlier this year, and in October seized the disputed city of Kirkuk from Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) forces.