US backs Iraq-Syria oil pipeline

The United States is advancing talks for a pipeline that would carry oil from Iraq to Syria, a route that avoids the Strait of Hormuz and would reduce Iran’s future leverage over global energy supplies, Bloomberg reported.

U.S. special envoy for Syria and Iraq Thomas Barrack has convened discussions with officials from both countries as well as companies including Chevron Corp. about reviving a long-defunct pipeline from Iraq to Syria’s western coast.

While multiple routes for new links are being considered, talks are focusing on rebuilding the Kirkuk to Baniyas pipeline that has been shut for more than two decades.

Another alternative is installing a line from Basra in the south of the country to Haditha in the north, which could then branch out to Syria, Turkey or Jordan.