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Pilot Operation Began on September 13, 2026, Deploying 209 Tanker Trucks to Transport Oil from Southern Iraq to a Facility in Kirkuk, Creating an Overland Link with the Northern System Used for Exporting Oil Toward the Turkish Port of Ceyhan
Iraq deployed 209 tanker trucks to the roads, moving over 6 million liters of crude oil in just two days. The cargo originated from the southern producing areas and was transported to a storage facility in Kirkuk, located in the north of the country.
Each truck used in the operation had a capacity of 30,000 liters. Reuters, the international news agency, published details of the test that began on September 13, 2026, which moved approximately 38,000 barrels of oil.
The sight of hundreds of loaded trucks helps illustrate the scale of the challenge. The oil is not being transported directly by truck to Ceyhan in Turkey. The aim is to connect southern production to the northern oil system, which already links to the export route into Turkey.
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209 Tanker Trucks Created an Overland Bridge Between Southern Oil Fields and Kirkuk in Two Days
This is a pilot operation. Iraq’s Ministry of Oil contracted the local company KAR Group to carry out the oil transport using its fleet of tanker trucks.
During the two-day test, the vehicles transported just over 6 million liters. In barrels, a unit commonly used in the oil sector, this represents approximately 38,000 barrels.
The number may seem large when translated into trucks on a highway. However, it is still small compared to the volume of oil that passes daily through the country’s export system.
The experience is meant to verify the extent to which road transport can aid in moving oil from a producing region to another part of the existing infrastructure.
Trucks Leave the Oil Stored in Kirkuk
The 209 trucks do not travel the entire route to the port of Ceyhan, in Turkey.
The trucks transport the oil produced in the south to a storage facility in Kirkuk. From there, the oil can enter the northern system, which is connected to the route used for exports through Turkish territory.
In practice, the trucks function as a link between two parts of the oil supply chain. Instead of immediately creating a new large pipeline between the regions, Iraq is testing the use of roadways to move part of the production to infrastructure that already exists.
The Northern Route Moved About 200,000 Barrels of Oil Per Day
The size of the difference becomes apparent when comparing the 38,000 barrels transported during the test with the daily flow along the northern route.
Reuters, the international news agency, reported that the flow of oil from northern Iraq to the Ceyhan port was estimated at approximately 200,000 barrels per day. Prior to the disruptions caused by the conflict involving Iran, this volume was close to 250,000 barrels per day.
This indicates that the movement carried out by trucks still represents a limited portion of the volume needed to cause a significant increase in exports along this route.
Nevertheless, the test allows southern oil to be integrated into an export corridor located in the north, which is important when other routes face difficulties.
Lack of Trucks and Loading Infrastructure Limits Expansion of Operations
Adding more trucks on the road does not solely depend on having oil available. The logistics itself create limits for rapidly expanding this model.
The amount transported daily depends on the number of available trucks, the capacity to load the oil into the vehicles, the conditions of the roads, security permits, and other factors related to transportation.
Another bottleneck lies in the southern oil fields. The available infrastructure to load large quantities of trucks is limited, making it difficult to transform an experimental operation into a much larger flow of oil.
Therefore, the initial more than 6 million liters do not mean that hundreds or thousands of trucks can simply be added to the operation overnight.
Road Transport Illustrates Why Replacing Large Pipelines is Challenging
A pipeline is a large pipe built to continually transport oil between different points. Once the structure is operational, enormous volumes can flow without relying on hundreds of individual vehicles on the highways.
Truck transport operates differently. Each vehicle carries a limited amount, must be loaded, travels the road, unloads the product, and then becomes available again for a new trip.
In the Iraqi test, each unit had a capacity of 30,000 liters. A total of 209 trucks were needed to transport just over 6 million liters during the two days of operation.
The comparison demonstrates why land alternatives can help connect producing regions and existing facilities, but it also clarifies why they still do not represent a large-scale replacement for traditional oil infrastructure.
Iraq managed to move approximately 38,000 barrels of oil by road during the test, creating a practical link between southern production and the Kirkuk system. While the operation may help enhance the use of the northern route, its own numbers reveal the current limitations.
The experience also transforms a problem typically hidden within pipelines, terminals, and industrial facilities into something visible: 209 tank trucks are on the road to transport in two days a quantity that the northern system moves several times in just a single day.
Did you imagine that a large oil producer would need to put hundreds of trucks on the road to connect its own export routes? Share your thoughts in the comments and share the article.
