Jordan imports around 200,000 barrels of Iraqi oil in one month — minister

AMMAN — Jordan imported a total of 204,000 barrels of Iraqi oil during September as per the deal the two countries inked in February, Energy Minister Hala Zawati said on Sunday.

Zawati said that there are no obstacles or pressure whatsoever hindering the implementation of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) the two countries have signed under which Jordan would receive 10,000 barrels of Iraqi crude oil daily, according to a ministry statement. "Both sides are working hard to ensure efficient implementation of the memo."

Under the MoU signed in February, Jordan would receive 10,000 barrels of Iraqi crude oil daily with a discount of $16 from the price of Brent Crude per barrel to cover the difference of transport costs and deviations in standards.

Touching on the impact of the unrest sweeping Iraq on oil shipments, the minister said that oil deliveries continued during the first two days of this month but were suspended for two days due to the current situation in Iraq. 

She added that oil shipments are back to normal now and that the last delivery was received on Saturday, according to the statement.  

As per the MoU, Iraqi oil covering 7 per cent of the Kingdom’s daily needs of oil would be exported from Baiji in Iraq to the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company.

Burj Al Hayat Transport and Trading Co. won the oil shipping tender earlier in May, and has since obtained 600 visas for drivers from both countries (300 Jordanians and 300 Iraqis), and will apply for more in the future.

The tender for transporting the crude oil was floated by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources in March in implementation of the MoU.