Jordan, Iraq agree to extend MoU on importing Iraqi oil, says Shamali 

AMMAN — Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply and Minister of Labour Yousef Shamali, as well as Energy Minister Saleh Kharabsheh on Thursday discussed bolstering cooperation with a number of Iraqi ministers and officials in Baghdad, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

In their meeting, the two ministers also focused on expediting the implementation of joint strategic projects, most notably the joint economic estate project and electrical grid connection project.

Shamali stressed that there is a shared vision to improve frameworks of  trade and investment cooperation, describing Jordanian-Iraqi relations as “complementary, serving common interests”.

He noted that the two governments are working diligently in coordination with the Egyptian side to materialise the outputs of tripartite summits which brought together His Majesty King Abdullah, Egypt’s President and the Iraqi prime minister, adding that these summits formed a roadmap for achieving integration between the three countries.

In regard to the  joint economic estate project, he noted that it is progressing according to plan, as the consulting company has finished drafting bid documents to attract project developers, adding that documents are currently being reviewed by the Iraqi-Jordanian Company for Industry, which is owned by the two countries’ governments.

The project will pave the way for achieving development in the western regions of Iraq and the eastern regions of Jordan, raising the level of economic cooperation between the two countries and providing job opportunities.

Kharabsheh said that Iraq initially agreed to extend the memorandum of understanding between the two countries to import oil for an additional three months under the same current conditions, and that concerned technical committees discuss renewing the memorandum.

Shamali also said that there is a consensus among Jordan and Iraq to continue supplying Jordan with 10,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd).

Shamali, in press remarks cited by Al Mamlaka TV during the minister’s visit to Baghdad, highlighted preliminary approval to renew the memorandum pertaining to supplying Jordan with oil for three months to reach the agreed upon quantities.

The Iraqi Oil Ministry in December announced that the average price of crude oil exported to Jordan reached $75.67.

The figures of the Iraqi ministry's Oil Marketing Company SOMO showed that "the total oil exports to Jordan during November reached 300,230 barrels at an average price of $77.33 per barrel, while the export rate reached 10,000 barrels per day”.

The selling price per barrel was $6.747 lower than the $ 82.417 official selling price announced by the Ministry of Oil.

The ministry pointed out that oil exports to Jordan generated $23,216,785 during a single month.

The Jordanian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources said that savings per barrel are estimated at $5.66, as the due savings to Jordan measure $16 per barrel, minus $0.075 in inspection fees per barrel, and $6.90 refinery fees per barrel, in addition to the cost of crude oil transporting of $3.50 per barrel, which means $3.40 per barrel to the benefit of the refinery.

Crude oil transport fees of $6.86 per barrel are also subtracted, reaching some JD36 per tonne. Considering that 10,000 barrels will be transported from Iraq to Jordan per day, savings could reach $20.7 million.

Kharabsheh also stressed the need to exchange expertise and strengthen cooperation in the field of mineral investment.

The two sides highlighted the importance of finalising electrical connections by 2023 as part of the electrical grid connection project between the two countries.

Iraqi ministers and officials stressed the importance of continuing efforts to enhance economic cooperation between the two countries, referring to available opportunities for Jordanian and Iraqi private sectors to establish joint investments and increase trade.

The volume of Jordanian-Iraqi trade amounted to JD487.9 million in 2021.