Jordan ‘awaiting response’ from Iraq over crude oil MoU renewal

AMMAN — The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources on Wednesday said that it was awaiting a response from Iraqi authorities regarding the renewal of a 2021 memorandum of understanding (MoU), under which Jordan purchases approximately 10,000 barrels of crude oil from Iraq on a daily basis.

Under the MoU, the 10,000 imported barrels per day are sourced from the Kirkuk oil fields in northern Iraq, and are sold at a discount of $16 less per barrel from the average price of Brent crude. The discount is intended to cover transport costs and quality discrepancies, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Iraqi crude oil began to be loaded onto import transportation infrastructure in September 2021, but the process was halted for logistical and technical reasons. A deadline of December 31, 2022 was added to the MoU in order to comply with contractually obligated quantities.

On December 15, 2022, Energy Minister Saleh Kharabsheh formally requested Iraq agree to a three-month extension of the MoU for a second time, with the extension to begin January 1, and end on March 31, 2023, with the same contractual terms. The Iraqi side approved the request.

Jordan imported a total of 4.5 million barrels from Iraq between September 2021 and the end of March 2023, at a pace of 9,992 barrels per day, accounting for 7 per cent of the Kingdom's needs.