Iraq And Syria Have Signed A Deal To Restore A Major Oil Pipeline. It Would Create An Alternative To The Strait Of Hormuz.

The proposed project would restore the pipeline connecting the oil-rich city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq with Syria's Mediterranean coast. (Credit: Getty Images)

Iraq and Syria signed an agreement Friday to rebuild a long-dormant oil pipeline that would give Baghdad a critical export route to the Mediterranean and reduce its dependence on the Strait of Hormuz.

The agreement was signed during a U.S. Chamber of Commerce summit in Washington focused on American investment in Iraq. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright presided over the ceremony, where Basra Oil Company CEO Bassem Abdul Karim Nasr and Syrian Petroleum Company CEO Youssef Qablawi signed the deal.