India has secured a major strategic victory in its energy security as Iraq has approved a revolutionary plan to bypass the volatile Strait of Hormuz. By resolving internal disputes and dramatically expanding an underground pipeline to Turkey’s Ceyhan port, Iraq will now transport crude oil directly to the Mediterranean coast, ensuring an uninterrupted supply to India.

The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow 39-kilometer passage between Oman and Iran, has become highly dangerous due to escalating conflicts in the Middle East, leading to drone attacks on tankers and a fourfold increase in shipping insurance rates. To protect its trade with India—its second-largest consumer—the Iraqi government resolved long-standing political and financial disputes with the Kurdistan region overnight to revive the Kirkuk-Kurdistan-Turkey pipeline.

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Under this newly approved plan, the pipeline’s export capacity will increase nearly fourfold, from 225,000 barrels per day to 780,000 barrels per day. This allows crude oil to reach the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, completely bypassing the Strait of Hormuz and securing India’s strategic oil reserves in Visakhapatnam, Mangaluru, and Padur against any future Middle Eastern conflicts.