Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi announced on Saturday that Baghdad is seeking to build a pipeline network across the country to carry oil products. He described the network as part of a “strategic” plan for oil transportation that includes pipelines to deliver crude and oil products to neighboring countries. The network will serve as an alternative to expensive and hazardous transport by tanker truck, explained the minister. The only crude pipeline now in operation in Iraq links the northern, semi-autonomous Kurdish region to Turkey’s Mediterranean coast. All other crude pipelines were shut down or destroyed in the past 35 years as a result of wars and conflicts.