Norway's DNO, the largest oil producer in Iraq's Kurdistan region, says it is looking at exporting oil via Syria to Mediterranean markets, where it could sell at a higher price than it achieves locally.

Executive Chairman Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani told investors and analysts on Thursday, 29 October, that routes through Syria to the Mediterranean have opened up after previously being closed by Syria's civil war. The company is exploring the possibility; it has not signed an export deal and no pipeline is in operation.

Fields and prices

DNO's Tawke and Peshkabir fields had combined gross output of 77,621 barrels per day in the third quarter of 2026, and the company plans to step up drilling. Its local sale price averaged $38.5 per barrel in the quarter, up from $31.2 a year earlier, but still well below international benchmarks, which is why a Mediterranean outlet matters to its economics.

The United States backed a proposal in July 2026 to revive a crude pipeline from northern Iraq to Syria's Mediterranean coast, but Reuters notes it could take years and billions of dollars to put into operation. DNO also noted that southern Iraqi oil is moving by truck to Turkish pipelines and to Syria for export, a reminder that the region's crude is already finding improvised routes to market while formal options are debated.

Sources: Reuters; Hathalyoum.