Norway’s DNO considers exporting Iraqi Kurdistan oil via Syria

Workers at the Tawke oil refinery near the village of Zacho, in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Photo: AFP Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Norwegian oil producer DNO is actively exploring routes through Syria to export its Iraqi Kurdistan crude oil to the Mediterranean. According to Reuters, the initiative aims to bypass local market constraints and fetch significantly higher international benchmark prices. DNO has been selling oil from its Tawke and Peshkabir fields to the local market at low prices. Although its domestic sales price increased somewhat to $45 per barrel in October 2026 compared to an average of $38.50 in the third quarter, it is still significantly below global benchmarks. Due to the Syrian civil war, transport to the Mediterranean through Syria was previously impossible. However, regional logistics are shifting. Significant volumes of southern Iraqi fuel oil and crude are already being transported by tanker trucks directly through Syria for export. Reflecting past delays in payments from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), DNO requires international buyers to deposit US dollars into its offshore accounts before any oil is collected. While trucks would be necessary for short-term movements, long-term solutions would encounter infrastructural obstacles. Despite prior political support from the United States to study the route, rebuilding a key Iraq-Syria oil pipeline may cost around $15 billion and take years to become fully operational. DNO is stepping up its drilling operations to increase the gross output from its important Kurdish licenses, which averaged 77,621 barrels of oil per day in the third quarter of 2026.