The Iraqi cabinet approved the framework agreement for the project to install a pipeline to transfer Iraqi crude oil from Basra to Jordan’s Aqaba port on the Red Sea.
Jordanian Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Saleh Kharabsheh said his Iraqi counterpart Ihsan Abdul Jabbar informed him of the cabinet’s decision in a phone call and commissioned him to complete the procedures to sign the agreement, al-Mamlaka TV reported.
Kharabsheh and Abdul Jabbar agreed to direct the technical and legal teams to proceed with the necessary steps to sign the agreement.
They further agreed on the importance of building on the outcomes of the fourth trilateral Jordanian-Iraqi-Egyptian summit, which was held in June in Baghdad with the participation of King Abdullah, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi and Sisi.
The project is in line with efforts to bolster bilateral ties and expand cooperation to serve mutual interests by opening a new hub for exporting Iraqi oil.
Under the agreement, Jordan can buy up to 150,000 oil barrels daily to be refined at the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company in Zarqa city.
The total cost of the project ranges between seven and nine billion dollars, according to Iraqi estimations.
