ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq has officially begun exporting oil via Syria by tanker, as the first convoy departed Tuesday through the newly inaugurated al-Waleed border crossing, officials told Rudaw.
Imad al-Dulaimi, mayor of Rutba district in western Anbar province, where the al-Waleed border crossing is located, told Rudaw, "the process of exporting Iraqi oil by tanker to Syria via the al-Waleed crossing has started, and from there, Iraqi oil will be exported to global markets."
The newly opened route for Iraqi oil exports comes as the Al-Waleed border crossing reopens after 11 years and amid major disruptions to the country’s export infrastructure.
Shipments through Basra ports were halted on February 28 following the large-scale US and Israeli military campaign against Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Since then, the federal government has been scrambling to find alternative routes to export its crude, which accounts for roughly 90 percent of Iraq’s revenue.
"For the first time today, more than 100 oil tankers crossed the al-Waleed gate into Syrian territory, and from there, they will be exported to [global] markets via the Mediterranean Sea," Dulaimi added.
The Iraqi General Authority of Customs said in a statement on Tuesday the crossing was officially opened by order of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani, and the first convoy of oil trucks immediately departed toward Syria.
Al-Waleed, located close to where the borders of Iraq, Syria, and Jordan meet, links Anbar province with Syria’s al-Tanf in Homs province and is one of four official border points between the two countries.