A massive pipeline project linking Iraq's oilfields to the Mediterranean through Syria will cost at least $15 billion and require four years of construction, according to sources familiar with the initiative, presenting a timeline significantly longer than optimistic U.S. projections.

The strategic venture aims to reduce the global energy industry’s reliance on the Strait of Hormuz, which has been largely disrupted by the ongoing Iran war.  

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last week projected that the strategic waterway would soon become obsolete as nations pivot to underground transit routes for more than half of their exports.

However, sources directly involved in the project cautioned that rehabilitating the historic Kirkuk-Banias pipeline corridor is entirely unviable.

Decades of conflict in Iraq and Syria severely damaged the original infrastructure, and surviving sections are incompatible with modern technical specifications.

Consequently, the venture requires laying completely new infrastructure rather than restoring the legacy line.

The ambitious design involves developing an integrated crude oil pipeline system connecting Iraq’s major northern and southern fields—including potential links to southern sites like West Qurna 2 and Nassiriya—to a central hub in Haditha in western Iraq.

From there, the pipeline will extend onward to Syria's Mediterranean port of Banias. The new conduit is projected to carry an initial transport capacity of 2 million barrels per day (bpd).

This represents a dramatic expansion over the historic line’s 300,000 bpd capacity and offers a critical economic lifeline for Baghdad, which saw its exports plummet during the Hormuz shutdown.

Syria and Iraq have signed separate memorandums of understanding with a consortium featuring U.S. energy major Chevron, TI Capital, and Qatar’s UCC Holding to conduct preliminary technical and financial studies.

While Washington has strongly welcomed the initiative, Chevron executives emphasize that evaluations are ongoing and full operational capacity will require phased integration over time.

Additional operational hurdles include clearing legacy war debris and securing fresh land-use rights from Syria's new administration.

Representatives for Iraq’s oil ministry and consortium members did not immediately respond to requests for comment.