Jordan imports 9,700 barrels of Iraq's crude oil daily — Kharabsheh

AMMAN — The Kingdom’s imports of Iraqi oil between September 9 and November 26 totalled 840,000 barrels with a daily average of 9,700, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Saleh Kharabsheh said on Monday. 

Kharabsheh added that Jordan imports a daily average of 10,000 oil barrels from the Baiji refinery in Iraq, located some 830 kilometres away from the Jordanian-Iraqi borders, constituting some 7 per cent of the Kingdom’s daily needs, according to a ministry statement.

The minister added that both countries recently agreed on preparing the T1 station in Al Qaim district in Al Anbar Governorate, which is 435 kilometres away from the border, to be accredited as a loading station for oil due to its adjacency to the border, noting that Iraq has not yet informed the Kingdom on the readiness of this station.   

Jordan imports Iraqi crude oil under a memorandum of understanding both countries signed in 2008 and is annually renewed, but was suspended for security reasons during late 2013 due to the closure of the Turaibil border crossing for security reasons.

The ministry contacted the Iraqi side in 2017 to reactivate the memo, which came into force again in early 2019. 

Iraqi oil is currently imported based on a memo signed in early 2021, under which Jordan buys Iraqi crude oil with a rate $16 lower than the international price of Brent crude oil to cover the cost difference at standards set by the Kingdom.