Chevron and a unit of Qatari conglomerate Power International Holding agreed to work on reviving an Iraq-Syria oil pipeline. The link could carry up to 2 million barrels a day from Iraq, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz. The deal adds to the prominent role that Qatari firms are playing in Syria, where Gulf governments and companies are jockeying for position in the country’s reconstruction. Their involvement, with support from the US, is in part motivated by the hope that, by investing in Syria’s infrastructure, the country can become a geopolitical buffer keeping Iranian influence out of the Levant.
The pipeline is one of multiple projects in the region to circumvent the strait: Goldman Sachs estimates that 60% of the prewar oil flow through Hormuz could be exported via new routes by the end of 2028.