Iraq and Syria signed a memorandum of understanding in Washington on Friday, July 17, to rehabilitate the oil pipeline linking Haditha in western Iraq to the Syrian port of Baniyas, Syria’s official SANA news agency and Iraq’s INA reported.

SANA described the project as an attempt to revive the historic Kirkuk–Baniyas corridor, which has been out of service for more than two decades. The agreement signed on Friday focuses more specifically on the Haditha–Baniyas section, while Chevron is expected to take part in preparing and implementing the project.

A second memorandum brings together the Syrian Petroleum Company, Chevron, UCC Holding and TI Capital. The consortium will carry out the technical and financial studies required before work can begin. SANA said the pipeline could eventually carry around 2 million barrels of crude oil per day.

The route would allow Iraq to send part of its crude to the Mediterranean without relying on the terminals around Basra and the Strait of Hormuz. The former network was damaged after the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, before the war in Syria and the Islamic State group’s occupation of territory in both countries made any revival even more difficult.

The agreement was signed three days after Donald Trump met Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Zaïdi at the White House. The US president, who described Zaïdi as a future “great leader”, had promised “a lot of deals” with Baghdad and a larger role for US companies in Iraq’s oil industry.