(25. Januar 2014) Of the numerous missing details about the new pipeline, two fundamental facts are conspicuously absent:

1) Where is the new pipeline? Maps previously published by oil companies operating in the region indicated that the pipeline (blue in the map below) would start in Iraqi Kurdistan, either near the Taq Taq or Kurdamir licenses. Media reports speculated that the pipeline would then connect to the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline (red in the map below) in Turkish territory, beyond a Baghdad-controlled metering station (yellow in the map below) near Fish Khabur.

2) Who is building the pipeline? It is certainly being built with the consent of both the Turkish government and Iraqi Kurdistan. The construction, however, is likely subcontracted out to an unknown private company.