Minister: Iraq committed to selling oil to Jordan 

(MENAFN - Jordan Times) The Iraqi government is willing to discuss with Jordan the reactivation of oil exports to the Kingdom through the pipeline extending inside Jordan.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting on Friday, Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein Shahristani said his country is committed to sending the agreed oil shipments to the Kingdom, which currently amount to around 10,000 barrels a day, adding that the two sides are working together to increase this quantity.

At a meeting with the editors of local dailies last month, Prime Minister Nader Dahabi said his talks in Iraq during a planned visit to Baghdad would cover a plan to activate the oil pipeline extending inside the Kingdom as a branch of a pipeline linking Iraq with the Syrian town of Banyas on the Mediterranean coast.

This pipeline project was discussed during talks Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki held in Russia last month.

On Thursday, Maliki discussed with a Russian delegation plans to repair the Kirkuk-Banyas pipeline.

"We hope that an agreement can be reached on repairing or replacing the pipeline," Maliki said in a statement released by his office.

Once the Banyas pipeline project is agreed upon, it would then be determined how to branch it to the Jordanian city of Zarqa, Dahabi said, noting that this particular issue was discussed between the Jordanian and Iraqi delegations during the recent Arab summit held in Doha.

"The Jordanian part of the pipeline is part of a major pipeline that extends to Banyas in Syria, however, this part is currently empty of crude oil as it has been for many years," the Iraqi oil minister said Friday, adding that this caused the pipes to become rusty and therefore it needs intensive maintenance.

By Hani Hazaimeh