Iraq cancels Basra-Aqaba oil pipeline

MENA

Published: 2017-08-07 13:23

Last Updated: 2024-03-27 19:11


Jordan, Iraq and Egypt signed in November 2015 a memorandum on the $5.6 billion project. (File photo)
Jordan, Iraq and Egypt signed in November 2015 a memorandum on the $5.6 billion project. (File photo)

Iraq has cancelled a gas pipeline project, which was planned to run adjacent to the Basra-Aqaba oil pipeline, Ashraf Rawashdeh, the Director of the Oil Department has told AlGhad.

The cancellation comes in order to lower costs and expedite execution.

As an alternative to the planned gas line, which was to connect the southern city of Basra with Jordan's Red Sea port of Aqaba, project developers are currently working on other means to power the pumping facilities and supply Jordan with gas in case of emergencies.

The oil pipeline project will still go ahead, with construction to commence by the end of 2017, Al Ghad reported.

The total cost of the project stands at USD 18 billion, with an estimated USD 8 billion worth of the project in sovereign Jordanian territories.

Jordan, Iraq and Egypt signed in November 2015 a memorandum on the $5.6 billion project.

The plan is to export 1 million bpd of Iraqi crude to Jordan, of which 150,000 bpd will supply Jordan's Zarqa refinery, with the remainder exported through the port of Aqaba.

The project has faced several delays due to the so-called Islamic State's control of territory in several cities and towns in the western Anbar province, which borders Jordan, where the pipeline will be laid.