Iraq and Syria Develop Land Corridor to Bypass Strait of Hormuz
Thousands of Iraqi tankers transport oil daily to Syria's Baniyas port. This emergency route could evolve into a major pipeline project worth up to $15 billion to bypass regional maritime threats.
A Desert Oil Bridge to the Mediterranean
Day and night, giant tankers loaded with oil traverse the two-lane highway cutting through the Syrian desert. Many bear Iraqi license plates, moving slowly over cracked asphalt, bypassing craters, and idling in traffic jams that sometimes stretch for miles. According to The Washington Post, approximately 5,000 trucks are currently involved in this continuous flow between refineries in southern Iraq and the Mediterranean coast.
At the end of the journey lies the port of Baniyas in western Syria. There, the oil is discharged into storage tanks, pumped to an offshore terminal, and loaded onto vessels sailing for Europe and Africa. This convoy, resembling a temporary pipeline on wheels, is one of the most tangible outcomes of regional instability and disruptions to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
The route began operating in April as a trial by Iraqi oil exporters forced to seek alternative outlets after traffic through the strait ground to a near halt. Within months, the emergency solution evolved into a much larger plan: a land-based energy corridor connecting the oil fields of southern Iraq to the Mediterranean via Syria.
Dr. Amit Mor, CEO of Eco Energy Financial-Strategic Consulting and a senior lecturer at Reichman University, explains that while a pipeline could facilitate oil flow when Hormuz is blocked, exiting to the Mediterranean does not solve the core logistical issue:
"Much of Iraq's oil is destined for East Asia. Therefore, oil reaching Baniyas would have to make a long maritime journey back east—either through the Suez Canal and Bab al-Mandab, or by circumnavigating Africa."
Emergency Solution Turns into Policy
Iraq is OPEC's second-largest oil producer, but nearly all of its export volume leaves from southern terminals near Basra, passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Before the current crisis, the country exported about 3.6 million barrels per day, with 3.4 million utilizing the southern route. When shipping in the strait was disrupted, Baghdad lacked an alternative route capable of handling such volume.
According to Reuters, Iraq's state oil marketing company, SOMO, awarded contracts in April to transport about 650,000 tons of fuel oil per month through Syria. Millions of barrels have since been transferred to Baniyas and onward to destinations in Europe and Africa. The port expanded its discharge facilities and can now handle an average of 900 tankers per day. Iraq has sought to extend the arrangement to crude oil and naphtha, aiming to export 50,000 barrels of crude per day through Syria in the initial phase.
While this is a small fraction of total Iraqi exports, officials in Baghdad have made it clear they intend to keep using the route even after Hormuz fully reopens. Iraq is not merely trying to weather the current crisis, but to ensure that in any future conflict, it will not be left with millions of barrels of stranded crude.
A Multi-Billion Dollar Pipeline Initiative
Trucking cannot serve as a permanent, large-scale solution. Transport is slow and expensive, Syrian roads are deteriorated, and accidents are frequent. Consequently, Iraq and Syria have signed memorandums of understanding with a consortium including US energy giant Chevron, investment firm TA Capital, and Qatar's UCC. At this stage, the focus is on technical and economic feasibility studies rather than a final investment decision.
Some announcements have framed the move as a revival of the historic Kirkuk-Baniyas pipeline, which opened in 1952 and has been inactive since 2003. In practice, the proposed plan is larger: it is designed to connect to major oil fields in southern Iraq, including West Qurna 2 and Nassiriya, carrying the oil north and west to the Mediterranean.
Sources told Reuters that much of the infrastructure would need to be rebuilt from scratch. The cost could reach up to $15 billion, with construction expected to take about four years once a decision is finalized. Dr. Mor estimates the actual cost could be lower but emphasizes the scale of the gamble:
"I estimate the pipeline cost would be around $5 billion, but it is certainly a major risk for the developers and financiers of such a project."
While the historic pipeline had a capacity of about 300,000 barrels per day, the new project targets up to two million barrels. Dr. Mor believes that from an engineering standpoint, building a pipeline of this capacity is feasible, given that production in the Basra region stands at about three million barrels per day. However, Chevron stated that feasibility studies are ongoing and final capacity has not been determined.
Trading Maritime Risks for Land Threats
The planned corridor is slated to run through western Iraq, where Iran-backed Shiite militias operate, and continue through the deserts of eastern Syria, where ISIS cells remain active. Some old pumping stations were destroyed by US airstrikes after being captured by the militant group, and the Syrian army is still clearing landmines near the border.
"The cost of constructing the pipeline is estimated in billions of dollars, and there are significant security risks in securing the oil supply against potential sabotage by ISIS and other hostile actors," Dr. Mor noted.
He added that establishing a connection from southern Iraq to the Mediterranean does not eliminate risk but shifts it: the danger of a maritime blockade in Hormuz is replaced by threats to land infrastructure stretching over hundreds of miles. Securing such a pipeline would require massive security efforts, driving up transit costs. Unlike a truck that can reroute, a single strike on a pumping station can halt the entire flow.
Syria's Strategic Ambitions
For Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the project represents far more than an oil pipeline. Following the fall of the Assad regime, Damascus is eager to leverage its reopening to foreign investment and capitalize on its geographic position between Iraq, the Gulf, Turkey, and the Mediterranean to generate revenue and regional influence.
"Syria expects to receive transit fees and payments for securing the oil transport, as well as access to crude oil from Iraq that can be refined locally, which could significantly aid its economic recovery," Dr. Mor explained.
Syrian officials have already held talks with Qatari investors regarding the potential future expansion of the network to transport Qatari gas. Geographically, Kuwait and Bahrain could also connect to the corridor, though these discussions remain preliminary. Damascus has also reached agreements with Turkey and Saudi Arabia to restore railway networks linking Europe to the Arabian Peninsula.
This marks a new iteration of the "Four Seas" vision once promoted by Damascus—positioning Syria as a hub connecting the Mediterranean, the Persian Gulf, the Black Sea, and the Caspian Sea. Under al-Sharaa, the initiative relies on Gulf and Western capital and normalized relations with Ankara and Riyadh, rather than alignment with Iran and Russia.
