Jordan and Iraq are nearing final approval for an $18 billion oil pipeline that would carry 1 MMbpd of oil from the Iraqi city of Basra through the Jordanian port of Aqaba and across the Red Sea to Egypt.
The head of Jordan’s Lower House Energy Committee, MP Jamal Gammoh, said that both countries are accelerating preparations for the pipeline after an agreement was reached between all three nations to extend the pipeline into Egypt. This new source of oil would supply Egypt’s needs as well as open Iraqi oil to new export opportunities. So far, planning arrangements including the pipeline’s track, components, absorptive capacity, funding sources, and operational means have already been completed.
If approved by the Iraqi Council of Ministers, a final agreement will be signed between Jordan and Iraq. Unstable security conditions in areas along the proposed pipeline’s path have led to delays, according to the Iraqi Ambassador in Amman, Safia Al-Suhail.
Jordan has already been promised 10,000 bpd from Iraq, which accounts for 7 percent of the country’s needs. Jordanian officials hope the new pipeline will reduce imports from Saudi Arabia, where it purchases oil at international prices for transport on tanker ships.
AVR