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ECONOMY
Flags flutter in front of an oil tank at al-Faw storage terminal, southern Iraq. File photo: Haidar Mohammed Ali / AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Iraq will resume its export of 10,000 barrels of oil from Kirkuk fields to Jordan in the next few days, the energy minister in Amman has said, as global oil prices begin to rise from collapse.
Energy minister Hala Zawati told reporters on Tuesday that Jordan received notice from Iraq about the resumption of oil exports after "positive" negotiations between the two countries.
"Baghdad agreed to resume exporting 10,000 bpd to Jordan in the coming two days,” Zawati told a press conference.
Iraq halted supply of Kirkuk's oil to Jordan in May, according to an Iraqi oil ministry monthly statement, after prices fell to less than $20 per barrel during the global price collapse earlier this year. The price plummet made export to Jordan - which required more than 200 oil tankers - too costly to continue.
Baghdad-based geopolitical analyst Noam Raydan told Rudaw English that Iraq can be expected to follow through on its notice.
“Iraq is likely to resume the oil export to Jordan, as global oil prices have gradually started to increase,” Raydan said on Wednesday.
“The export of the 10,000 bpd is significant for both sides, as Jordan relies on oil imports,” she added.
The 10,000 Iraqi barrels "makes up seven percent of our daily consumption,” Zawati said.
The oil price crash was sparked by a worldwide decline in demand for fuel under the coronavirus lockdown. Rival oil-producing giants Saudi Arabia and Russia stood off over cuts to production to stabilise prices.
The standoff proved disastrous for smaller oil producing nations like Iraq, a country heavily dependent on oil exports to prop up its fragile economy.
OPEC producers and allies eventually agreed in April to cut production until April next year. Iraq has pledged to adhere to the agreement, with the eventual goal of cutting its production by 100,000 bpd.
Kirkuk is an oil-rich province whose administration continues to be hotly contested by the governments of the Kurdistan Region and federal Iraq.
Last year, Iraq’s then-premier Adil Abdul-Mahdi suggested his country could extend its pipeline from Kirkuk to Jordan – allowing Baghdad to avoid heightened tension in the Persian Gulf, a major oil export channel, and bypass the Kurdistan Region.
Energy minister Hala Zawati told reporters on Tuesday that Jordan received notice from Iraq about the resumption of oil exports after "positive" negotiations between the two countries.
"Baghdad agreed to resume exporting 10,000 bpd to Jordan in the coming two days,” Zawati told a press conference.
Iraq halted supply of Kirkuk's oil to Jordan in May, according to an Iraqi oil ministry monthly statement, after prices fell to less than $20 per barrel during the global price collapse earlier this year. The price plummet made export to Jordan - which required more than 200 oil tankers - too costly to continue.
Baghdad-based geopolitical analyst Noam Raydan told Rudaw English that Iraq can be expected to follow through on its notice.
“Iraq is likely to resume the oil export to Jordan, as global oil prices have gradually started to increase,” Raydan said on Wednesday.
“The export of the 10,000 bpd is significant for both sides, as Jordan relies on oil imports,” she added.
The 10,000 Iraqi barrels "makes up seven percent of our daily consumption,” Zawati said.
The oil price crash was sparked by a worldwide decline in demand for fuel under the coronavirus lockdown. Rival oil-producing giants Saudi Arabia and Russia stood off over cuts to production to stabilise prices.
The standoff proved disastrous for smaller oil producing nations like Iraq, a country heavily dependent on oil exports to prop up its fragile economy.
OPEC producers and allies eventually agreed in April to cut production until April next year. Iraq has pledged to adhere to the agreement, with the eventual goal of cutting its production by 100,000 bpd.
Kirkuk is an oil-rich province whose administration continues to be hotly contested by the governments of the Kurdistan Region and federal Iraq.
Last year, Iraq’s then-premier Adil Abdul-Mahdi suggested his country could extend its pipeline from Kirkuk to Jordan – allowing Baghdad to avoid heightened tension in the Persian Gulf, a major oil export channel, and bypass the Kurdistan Region.
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