Kingdom received 10,000 barrels of Iraqi crude oil daily in February — Energy minister

AMMAN — Minister of Energy Hala Zawati on Sunday announced that the total volume of Iraqi crude oil received by the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company during February reached 290,000 barrels at a rate of 10,000 barrels per day. 

Zawati said in a statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, said that the Iraqi crude oil was transported in 1,127 tanks to the refinery in Zarqa in February.

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. 

Since signing the agreement, the Kingdom has received 1.8 million barrels of Iraqi crude oil, the minister added. 

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.

Burj Al Hayat Transport and Trading Company won the oil shipping tender in May of 2019, and has since obtained 600 visas for drivers from both countries (300 Jordanians and 300 Iraqis), with plans to apply for more in the future, the statement said.