The deals, signed at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, also involved other industries, including healthcare, communications and infrastructure.
It's not clear when the oil deals will be able to create viable alternatives to the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world's oil flows. Goldman Sachs estimates that pipelines in just one country take at least two and a half years to build, and these pipelines would travel through two or more nations.
Iran has sought to close the Strait repeatedly since the U.S.-Iran war began Feb. 28, causing sharp gyrations in oil and gas prices.
On Friday afternoon, the price of West Texas crude rose nearly 5% to $88 a barrel, up from about $67 before the war began. It had topped $110 in early April before falling back after a truce was reached. It has since risen on renewed conflict between U.S. and Iran.
Thomas Barrack, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, said the oil pipeline agreements would lead to a program “that will make the Strait of Hormuz an afterthought.”
The signings followed a meeting between Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Falah al-Zaidi Thursday with executives of Chevron in Houston, at which al-Zaidi urged the U.S. energy company to expand and accelerate its investments in Iraq.
In a speech Friday, al-Zaidi said Iraq’s economy is seeking long-term investment and partnerships, not merely contractors to carry out projects.
Al-Zaidi stressed his government’s commitment to communication, dialogue and cooperation with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, describing it as “the place where economic decisions are made."
On Friday, Chevron signed three agreements with the Iraqi government. Jake Spiering, Chevron's president of corporate business development, said two would focus on boosting oil production, while a third would involve “investing in a pipeline that’s going to create another export route out of Iraq to world markets. This is very important for energy security.”
Also Friday, the State Department welcomed an agreement between Iraq and Syria “to advance the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the Iraq-Syria crude oil pipeline as a priority infrastructure project."
“The United States welcomes the engagement of a U.S.-led international consortium to execute the technical and financial aspects of this project,” the department said.
The pipeline will connect southern Iraq’s Basra to western Iraq’s Haditha and go from there to the Ceyhan port in Turkey and the port of Baniyas on Syria’s coast, Iraqi officials have said. The pipeline is projected to carry about 2 million barrels of oil per day.
In a note released earlier this week, analysts at Goldman Sachs estimated that seven different pipelines in the region under development could, by the end of 2028, carry about 60% of the oil currently shipped through the Strait.
The pipelines could carry roughly 14 million barrels per day by then, Goldman estimated. Roughly 23 million barrels per day were shipped through Hormuz before the Iran war.
