Iraq to resume oil exports to Jordan — Zawati

AMMAN — Iraq has completed all logistical procedures and started crude oil loading to resume the flow of Iraqi oil to the Kingdom, Energy Minister Hala Zawati announced on Thursday.

Iraq had suspended oil exports to Jordan after oil prices dropped to less than $20 per barrel.

In a statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, Zawati said that Jordan and Iraq had agreed last week to resume Iraqi oil exports to the Jordan Petroleum Refinery in Zarqa.

The move will bolster the Amman-Baghdad energy cooperation, which falls within the framework of a package of projects designated to serve the interests of the two countries, the minister said.

The total volume of Iraqi crude oil received by the Kingdom since the launch of shipments in September 2019 up until the end of April 2020 totalled 2.44 million barrels, at a rate of 10,000 barrels a day.

On the mechanism of importing oil amid the coronavirus crisis, the minister said that Iraqi oil tankers unload crude oil into Jordanian tankers at the border between the two countries, in line with the government’s precautionary measures to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The import of Iraqi oil comes within the framework of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the two countries in February 2019, under which Jordan buys Iraqi crude oil (Kirkuk crude oil) to meet part of its annual needs.

Under the MoU, Jordan receives 10,000 barrels of Iraqi crude oil daily with a $16 discount per barrel on the price of Brent Crude to cover the difference of transport costs and deviations in standards, according to a previous Energy Ministry statement.

The oil is exported from Baiji in Iraq to the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company and covers 7 per cent of the Kingdom’s daily oil needs.