Amman - Jordan will receive first shipment of Iraqi oil
shortly, the state-run Jordan Petra news agency reported Tuesday.
'Petra has learnt that the first shipment of Iraqi crude is
currently on its way to Jordanian territory,' the agency said without
giving further details.
Earlier Tuesday, the Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki assured
his Jordanian counterpart Marouf Bakhit that the Iraqi government was
'committed to supplying Jordan with part of its oil requirements in
compliance with a memorandum of understanding' that was signed
between the two countries last year.
Al-Maliki called Bakhit to congratulate him on the advent of the
Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, Petra said.
Jordanian Energy Minister Khalid Sheraydeh said recently that the
Iraqi government had informed Jordan about its 'readiness to start
supplying the Kingdom with Iraqi crude'.
He pointed out that the memorandum of understanding that was
signed during Bakhit's visit to Baghdad provided for supplying Jordan
with 10,000 barrels of crude per day at the beginning.
'The quantity will increase gradually to cover Jordan's total
daily consumption' of 100,000 barrels, he said.
'The Iraqi government will take the responsibility of ensuring
protection for car tankers during their journey from Kirkuk to the
Iraqi-Jordanian borders, while Jordanian tankers will be waiting at
the frontiers to take the loads,' he added.
During a rare visit to Baghdad by Bakhit in August last year, the
two countries reach agreement for providing Jordan with Iraqi oil at
'preferential prices'.
But the two countries failed to implement the accord so far
because they were unable to ensure protection for car tankers
carrying the Iraqi crude to Jordan.
Iraqi energy supplies to Jordan were halted abruptly on the eve of
the US-led invasion of Iraq on March 20, 2003, that led to the
collapse of the previous regime of Saddam Hussein.
Over about 13 years since Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in August
1990, the Baghdad government supplied the Hashemite kingdom with
Iraqi crude at nearly half price.
After Saddam's ouster, three Arab oil-rich countries - Saudi
Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq - volunteered to compensate Jordan for the
lost Iraqi oil donation, but they decided to stop their crude gift
early in 2005, forcing the Jordanian treasury to suffer as a result
of buying oil at world prices.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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