It remains unclear whether the proposed Iraqi-backed refinery would involve constructing a new facility or rehabilitating the old one originally built with Iraqi support. [Getty]
Iraqi lawmakers have formally requested clarification from the government over reported plans to fund the construction of an oil refinery in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, questioning the rationale behind the move as domestic energy infrastructure projects face delays.
Iraqi Oil Ministry spokesperson Abdulsahib al-Hasnawi told The New Arab that the ministry currently has no information regarding the reported initiative.
Alaa Ouda al-Nashi, a member of parliament representing the southern province of Dhi Qar, submitted a formal request to Iraqi prime minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani, expressing concern that the government’s alleged intention to invest in a refinery abroad comes as her province continues to suffer from what she described as ongoing neglect of a similar, long-delayed project.
In an official letter posted on her Facebook page, al-Nashi said the Tripoli refinery plan raised several questions, particularly given the economic and strategic importance of completing the Dhi Qar project. She called on the government to clarify its investment priorities in the energy sector.
Controversy over Lebanese investment
The issue gained traction following remarks by opposition MP Mustafa Sanad, who alleged that Sudani had instructed officials to move ahead with the construction of a 70,000 barrel-per-day refinery in Tripoli—a Mediterranean city in a non-oil-producing country, Lebanon, that does not share a border with Iraq.
Sanad posted a document on his Facebook page, which he claimed originated from the Ministry of Oil, referring to plans to “support and assist the people of Lebanon” through the refinery project. According to the documents, the facility would initially be supplied by tankers or road transport until a proposed oil pipeline is built.
The pipeline, Sanad claimed, would run from Iraq’s southern oil hub of Basra to the western city of Haditha, crossing into Syria via Banias and Homs before reaching Tripoli. The documents were dated 27 April 2025.
TNA could not independently verify the authenticity of the document posted by Sanad.
The claims surfaced days after a senior Lebanese delegation, including Energy Minister Walid Fayad, visited Baghdad—fuelling speculation about deepening Iraqi-Lebanese energy cooperation.
Fadi al-Shammari, political adviser to the prime minister, denied the reports in a post on the X social media platform, calling them “Hollywood-style fabrications”.
He further said any overseas refinery projects would require approval by the Iraqi Council of Ministers and detailed feasibility studies by the relevant ministries—a process that could take years.
He also questioned how future projects could be seen as “selling Iraq,” arguing that investing in foreign refineries and petrochemical ventures is a common sovereign strategy used by countries like Saudi Arabia and the US to diversify markets and maximise revenues.
TNA also contacted Ezzat Sabir, the deputy minister of oil, and Hibat al-Halbousi, head of the oil and gas committee in parliament, but received no response by the time of publication.
Pipeline revival?
The controversy arises as Iraq pursues broader regional energy integration. Last month, a government delegation travelled to Damascus to explore the possibility of reviving an Iraqi oil pipeline that previously transported crude through Syria to Mediterranean ports.
The Kirkuk–Baniyas oil pipeline, established in 1952, linked Iraq’s Kirkuk oil fields to the Syrian port of Baniyas on the Mediterranean. Stretching nearly 800 kilometres, it had a capacity of 300,000 barrels per day. Iraq halted operations of the pipeline from 1982 to 2000 after Syria supported Iran during the Iran–Iraq War. The pipeline was heavily damaged during the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq and has remained out of service ever since.
Syria and Lebanon are experiencing a severe energy crisis following the collapse of their oil sectors during recent Israeli military operations, and have turned to intermediaries for crude imports.
The oil installations in Tripoli consist of two main sites: the terminal and the refinery. According to the concession ratified by Lebanese law on 23 May 1931, the Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC) transported crude oil from Kirkuk via pipelines through Syria to the Tripoli terminal for export and refining, according to the official website of the General Directorate of Oil at Lebanon’s Ministry of Energy and Water.
In 1940, the refinery was built to process imported Iraqi crude, with a capacity of 21,000 barrels per day. The Lebanese government took over management in 1973. However, due to the Lebanese civil war and halted operations, the refinery was shut down in 1992.
Today, the Tripoli installations operate by importing fuel oil for industrial use and diesel for vehicles, storing them in tanks at the terminal and distributing them to the local market through private companies.
It remains unclear whether the proposed Iraqi-backed refinery would involve constructing a new facility or rehabilitating the old one, originally built with Iraqi support.
A media inquiry sent to the General Directorate of Oil at Lebanon’s Ministry of Energy and Water also went unanswered.
TNA spoke with an Iraqi oil expert, who said it would not be wise or technically feasible to rehabilitate the old refinery, describing it as outdated and inefficient.
“Modern refineries are more cost-effective and technologically advanced,” the expert said, adding that if a new refinery is to be built, it could still be located on the site of the historical facility in Tripoli.
The expert noted that there are no technical issues with the pipeline from Kirkuk to the Haditha border crossing, but its condition inside Syria remains unknown. Rebuilding it would take significant time and resources, the expert said.
He also suggested that Iraq’s recent moves to revive the old Syrian route could be aimed at pressuring Turkey to resume the flow of oil through the Kirkuk–Ceyhan pipeline.
Iraq–Turkey energy diplomacy
Prime Minister Sudani, currently on an official visit to Turkey, has discussed the resumption of oil exports via Turkey.
At a joint press conference with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Turkish leader said Ankara was open to accelerating the restart of exports through the port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean.
The move comes as Baghdad grows increasingly frustrated with Turkey’s delays in reopening the route.
In March 2023, Ankara halted the export of 450,000 barrels per day from the Kurdistan region after the International Chamber of Commerce ruled in a nine-year dispute that Baghdad, not the Kurdistan Regional Government, must control all Iraqi oil exports.
The tribunal ordered Turkey to pay Baghdad $1.5 billion in damages for allowing the KRG to export oil independently between 2014 and 2018.
For Baghdad, restarting oil exports through Syria could provide an alternative route and valuable political leverage, as it looks to diversify its export corridors in anticipation of potential tensions in the Gulf, where all of Iraq’s oil currently flows through its southern ports.
Whether aimed at deepening regional ties or leveraging geopolitical pressure, the proposal underscores the broader strategic recalibration underway in Iraq’s oil export policy—one that must balance domestic development needs with growing external ambitions, as Iraqi lawmakers stress.
