Jordan Cabinet approves Iraq pipeline project in principle

The Jordanian Cabinet has approved, in principle, a deal between Jordan’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and Iraq’s Oil Ministry to build an oil and gas pipeline linking the main southern Iraq oil fields near Basra and Jordan’s port, Aqaba, writes Keith Nuthall. The Jordanian Ministry has said that the 1,680 km pipeline could pump 1mn b/d of oil and 258mn cf/d of gas to Jordan.

As Jordan only needs 134,000–150,000 b/d to meet domestic demand, and already imports much of this from Saudi Arabia, the remainder (and probably more) would be exported, perhaps generating $3bn/y in transit revenues, according to the Ministry. The project was initially agreed in 2013, but has been stalled because of instability in Iraq, notably in Al Anbar province, neighbouring the Jordan border, where Islamic State had been active from 2014 until late last year.

Initial estimates have put the cost of building the pipeline at $18bn. The line would give Iraq more export security – offering an alternative to exporting via the Gulf and through Turkey.