Iraq Approves Framework Agreement to Install Basra-Aqaba Oil Pipeline

A worker walks at the Rumaila oil field in Basra, Iraq (Reuters file photo)
A worker walks at the Rumaila oil field in Basra, Iraq (Reuters file photo)
TT
20

Iraq Approves Framework Agreement to Install Basra-Aqaba Oil Pipeline

A worker walks at the Rumaila oil field in Basra, Iraq (Reuters file photo)
A worker walks at the Rumaila oil field in Basra, Iraq (Reuters file photo)

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.



Report: US Energy Chief Wright Heads to Middle East for Nearly Two Weeks

US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright speaks to the media, outside of the West Wing of the White House, in Washington, DC, US, March 19, 2025. (Reuters)
US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright speaks to the media, outside of the West Wing of the White House, in Washington, DC, US, March 19, 2025. (Reuters)
TT
20

Report: US Energy Chief Wright Heads to Middle East for Nearly Two Weeks

US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright speaks to the media, outside of the West Wing of the White House, in Washington, DC, US, March 19, 2025. (Reuters)
US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright speaks to the media, outside of the West Wing of the White House, in Washington, DC, US, March 19, 2025. (Reuters)

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Wednesday will launch a nearly two-week tour of three Middle East countries, including Saudi Arabia, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The trip, which will also include visits to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, is expected to help lay the groundwork for President Donald Trump's own visit to those countries likely in mid-May.

It comes at a critical time, on the heels of Trump's surprise announcement on Monday that the US and Iran are having direct talks on Tehran's nuclear program and as global oil prices hit a near four-year low.

Oil prices have fallen on worries that Trump's latest tariffs could push economies around the world into recession at the same time OPEC+ oil producers speed up increases in production.