Agreements signed at the U.S.-Iraq Business Summit during Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s Washington visit span energy, technology and infrastructure, including plans to revive the Iraq-Syria oil pipeline and diversify export routes.
Iraq signed 48 agreements, memoranda of understanding, cooperation agreements and partnership declarations with U.S. entities during Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s visit to Washington, with Reuters reporting the initial package is worth more than $60 billion. The agreements, signed at the U.S.-Iraq Business Summit, include energy partnerships involving BP, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, KBR, GE Vernova, Shell and Halliburton, as well as a Starlink satellite communications deal. A central element is a cooperation agreement between Iraq and Syria to reconstruct the long-defunct Kirkuk-to-Baniyas oil pipeline, which the U.S. State Department said would be handled by a U.S.-led international consortium with an initial capacity of 2 million barrels per day, while Iraq’s state news agency said Chevron would carry out the project. The package reflects Baghdad’s push to expand oil and gas output, develop natural gas resources and reduce reliance on export routes through the Strait of Hormuz amid regional tensions.