Iraq and Jordan signed Sunday, December 23, the 2002 oil protocol, whereby Iraq will provide Jordan with an additional half-a-million tons of crude oil for 2002. "An agreement reached today with Iraq meets all of Jordan's needs in crude oil and its derivatives for next year, which are estimated at 5.5 million tons," Jordanian Energy Minister Mohammad Batayneh told the official Petra news agency said.
Batayneh confirmed that Jordan intends to import 4.5 million tons of crude oil and one million tons of oil products from Iraq over the year 2002. Iraq is the Kingdom's only source of oil and oil derivatives, which amounted to five million tons in 2001.
Jordan receives half of its oil from Iraq for free, while the remaining portion is sold to the kingdom at a concession price, four to five dollars less than the world market price. Jordan's exports to Iraq rose to $450 million in 2001, up from $300 million the previous year, AFP reported.
Batayneh met with the Iraqi Oil Minister Amer Rashid in Baghdad earlier this month to discuss the renewal of the annual $600-million oil protocol. The two ministers also reportedly discussed the construction of a pipeline that will transfer oil from Iraq to Jordan. The proposed link is planned to substitute the current transportation of oil via trucks across the border. — (menareport.com)
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
