Baghdad completes maintenance of Karkouk-Banias oil pipeline
Iraq-Syria, Economics, 12/27/1999

The London-based al-Hayat daily quoted a high-ranking Arab diplomat who it described as very well-informed on Syrian-Iraqi relations as saying that a team of Iraqi engineers and technicians has carried out for several months the necessary maintenance work on the destroyed parts of the Iraqi-Syrian oil pipeline.

One year ago talks were held between the Syrian and Iraqi authorities to make studies on the requirements of the oil pipeline in order to reopen it after it was closed in 1982, at a Syrian decision.

Syria had asked a British consultation company to make the necessary studies, and the company asserted to the Syrian side that the necessary maintenance for the destroyed parts of the pipe from the Iraqi border to Banias would cost US $20 million. Then Damascus told the Iraqi authorities that it is not ready to bear the cost of the US $20 million to reopen the line, a matter which made Iraq send a team of Iraqi oil experts to Syria, in agreement with the Syrian side. The Iraqi teams made the necessary repairs to make the line operational.

The source added that the reason behind not opening the line was a warning from US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in one of her speeches in which she indicated that Syria realizes the red lines for its regional diplomacy and that Syria has then resumed negotiations with Israel through the US cosponsor, which came against operating the Iraqi-Syrian line.

Previous Stories:
  Reopening petroleum pipeline between Iraq and Syria   (12/20/1999)
  Syrian-Iraqi oil pipeline to be opened soon   (11/18/1999)
  Iraq completes building of the oil pipelines through Syria   (8/10/1999)

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