Iraq Signs 48 Deals Worth Over 60 Billion With US Companies Including Kirkuk-Baniyas Pipeline to Bypass Strait of Hormuz

Iraq and the United States signed 48 agreements, memoranda of understanding and partnership declarations between public and private entities during Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi's Washington visit, covering the oil and electricity ministries alongside ExxonMobil, KBR, GE Vernova, Shell and Halliburton, plus a Starlink deal to launch service in Iraq 123. The Iraqi leader's media office and Reuters put the combined value of the initial agreements, spanning energy, healthcare and technology, at more than $60 billion 14. Iraq and Syria separately signed a US-backed agreement to rehabilitate the Kirkuk-Baniyas crude pipeline, with the State Department saying a US-led consortium will handle technical and financial execution and citing an initial capacity of two million barrels per day 14; Chevron said it will carry out the project alongside TI Capital and Qatar's UCC Holding, and separately signed two additional agreements on Iraqi oil production 45. The National reported ConocoPhillips agreed to acquire a 42 percent stake in BP Energy Company of Kirkuk Limited covering four northern Iraqi oilfields 5, while AP reported West Texas crude rose nearly 5 percent to $88 a barrel that Friday 46.