The Iraqi Prime Minister’s Office on 30 December announced that the cabinet has approved a IQD5.97 trillion ($4.6bn) contract for the construction of a 685km crude oil pipeline from Basra to Haditha. The contract was awarded to Basra Oil Company (BOC) its fellow state-firm the State Company for Oil Projects (SCOP). The new pipeline is to have capacity to transport 2.25mn b/d to Haditha in Anbar province, and will replace the decrepit Strategic Pipeline which was first constructed in 1975.
Iraq’s parliament allocated the funds in June (MEES, 21 June 2024), and the PMO says funds will be allocated from the $10bn Sinosure agreement signed with China in 2019 for the financing of infrastructure projects (MEES, 12 November 2021). (CONTINUED - 280 WORDS)
