Jordan to import Iraqi oil with $16 discount on Brent price per barrel

AMMAN — Jordan will receive Iraqi oil with a discount of $16 from the price of Brent crude per barrel, to cover the difference of transport costs and deviations in specifications, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Hala Zawati said on Wednesday.

Under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by the minister and her Iraqi counterpart, Thamer Ghadban, at the Karameh-Turaibil border crossing on Saturday, the Kingdom will buy 10,000 barrels of crude Kirkuk oil per day from its neighbour, which covers 7 per cent of the Kingdom’s daily demand, an Energy Ministry statement said.

Under the MoU, the quantity of oil imported by the Kingdom from Iraq is subject to increases later on with the agreement of both sides, Zawati said.

She also pointed out that Jordan shall provide oil tankers to transport crude oil from Baiji area in Iraq to the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company in Zarqa.

The minister stressed the importance of the agreement in enhancing trade exchange with Iraq, creating jobs and renovating the highway connecting the two countries.  

Regarding the planned connection of the two countries’ electrical grid, Zawati said that Jordan is expected to start exporting electrical power to Iraq within two years, while both sides agreed to initiate studies for establishing the Basra-Aqaba oil pipeline, according to the statement.