Iraqi lawmakers urge end to single oil export route, national tanker fleet

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Members of Iraq's parliamentary Oil, Gas and Natural Resources Committee have called on the government to reduce the country's dependence on a single maritime outlet for crude exports, warning that the arrangement poses a security risk. Committee member Khalid Sido said the Basra-Aqaba pipeline project remains stalled and urged the creation of a state-owned national tanker fleet to counter potential blockades. Sido said international shipping companies charge $3 to $4 per barrel in transport fees, costs a domestic fleet would eliminate while helping maintain shipments during regional crises. He did not specify a timeline for the proposal. Fellow committee member Hawra Aziz Al-Mousawi said gas flaring at southern oil fields, which causes direct losses of $1 billion to $4 billion annually, cannot be fully eliminated by the end of next year due to structural, financial and operational constraints. She attributed the problem to the financial burden of natural gas imports from Iran, lost opportunities in the petrochemical and fertilizer industries, and environmental degradation in Basra and surrounding areas. The lawmakers' remarks highlight pressure on Baghdad to diversify export infrastructure and address chronic flaring in the south, though no further details on the proposed tanker fleet or the Basra-Aqaba pipeline were immediately available.