Despite major security challenges, Iraq’s oil minister is determined to proceed with an alternative oil export route through Jordan, a project that was shelved at the start of the IS incursion in June.
A Sino-Japanese-Iraqi consortium has been formed and asked to submit a preliminary technical proposal for the 2.25mn b/d pipeline that will tie Basra oil fields to Jordan’s Red Sea port of Aqaba. (MEES, 21 November 2014). The companies, led by Chinese state firm CNPC, one of the biggest investors in southern Iraq, is carrying out the work on the understanding that the ministry will negotiate with them directly for a no-contest award once security conditions in Anbar province improve, MEES understands. Large swathes of Anbar, including areas the pipeline would traverse, are currently under IS control. (CONTINUED - 282 WORDS)
