Anbar province has formally proposed increasing oil exports via tanker trucks to 200,000 bpd—a ten-fold increase over current volumes—to bypass stalled pipeline infrastructure and generate immediate revenue. While the security situation on Western transit routes has stabilized and infrastructure of transit routes have improved, the high cost of trucking to Jordan make this a secondary, less efficient alternative to the still-blocked Basra-Aqaba and Kirkuk-Banias strategic pipelines.
The News
Mu'ayyad al-Dulaimi, the official spokesperson for the Anbar Governorate stated on March 23 that the province is capable of exporting between 100,000 and 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil via tanker trucks through its three border crossings.
The local government has submitted a formal proposal to the federal Ministry of Oil to resume large-scale trucked exports to Jordan and Syria. This follows the stabilization of regional roads and recent expansion projects at land crossings that were previously compromised during the conflict with the Islamic State. Al-Dulaimi further urged the central government to reactivate strategic infrastructure, specifically the Basra-Haditha-Aqaba pipeline and the Kirkuk-Banias line through Syria.
Why It Matters
The proposal highlights Anbar's push to position itself as a strategic transit hub amid the instability surrounding the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline. Iraq exports approximately 15,000 bpd to Jordan via tanker trucks through the Trebil crossing. However, this too has been suspended for nearly two months due to ongoing negotiations toward a renewed agreement after the previous memorandum expired.
While trucked exports provide a bypass for damaged or politically blocked pipelines, they are historically less efficient and more costly. For example, Iraq sells crude oil to Jordan at a discount of roughly $16 per barrel below Brent prices to cover high transport costs between Kirkuk and Zarqa.
For investors, the move signals a growing local government appetite to bypass federal gridlock on major infrastructure projects like the Haditha-Aqaba pipeline, which remains stalled due to parliamentary opposition.
While the security situation of trade routes has improved sufficiently to allow for stable road transit, the economic feasibility of scaling trucked exports ten-fold remains unverified. Such a move would require a massive expansion of the existing tanker fleet and could face pushback from federal authorities wary of decentralized oil marketing.
