Iraqi cabinet approves project for oil pipeline from Basra to Aqaba — Kharabsheh

AMMAN — Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Saleh Kharabsheh on Monday announced the Iraqi cabinet's approval of the framework agreement for the project to install a pipeline to transfer Iraqi crude oil from Basra to the Aqaba port.

Kharabsheh said that his Iraqi counterpart Ihsan Abduljabbar, in a phone call, had announced Iraq's approval, where Abduljabbar was commissioned to complete procedures necessary for signing the agreement, according to a ministry statement.

Kharabsheh and his Iraqi counterpart agreed to direct the technical and legal teams to proceed with necessary procedures to sign the agreement. 

The two ministers also highlighted the importance of building on the outcomes of the fourth trilateral Jordanian-Iraqi-Egyptian summit that was held in June in Baghdad with the participation of His Majesty King Abdullah, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Kadhimi and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi.

The two sides also went over bilateral relations and the latest developments pertaining to the Iraqi oil pipeline through the Aqaba port.

The scheme is part of efforts to enhance bilateral ties and expand cooperation in a way that serves the joint interests of the two countries through opening a new hub for the exportation of the Iraqi oil, where Jordan has the right to buy 150,000 oil barrels daily to be refined at the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company in Zarqa. 

The scheme includes building an oil pipeline to transfer crude oil with a capacity of one million barrels a day from Basra to Aqaba with a total length of 1,775 kilometres to export the Iraqi oil through Aqaba to international markets.

The total cost of the project is ranges between $7 billion and $9 billion, according to the estimations of the Iraqi side, the statement added.