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muley1on Apr 27, 2010 11:15am
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Oil Deals Picking up in Iraq
Oil Deals Picking up in IraqApril 27,2010 Iranhopes to sign Iraq oil pipeline deal
Iran hopesto sign a deal with Iraq to build an oil export pipeline from Iraq’ssouthern city of Basra within a month, an Iranian diplomat said onSunday.
Theplan for a pipeline from Iraq’s southern city of Basra to Iran’s Abadanrefinery is not new, as both OPEC members signed an initial agreementin 2005.
But the agreement has been on hold since then, stalledby violence unleashed after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
Therevived plan to export Iraqi crude was now being reviewed by Iraqiofficials, Ali Heidari, the trade attaché at the Iranian embassy inBaghdad, told Reuters.
“We gave a draft of the agreement to theIraqi side... It is in its final stages, it could be signed within amonth,” he said.
Under the 2005 preliminary deal, Iraq was toexport 150,000 barrels per day of crude through twin pipeline and Iranwas to send gasoline, gas oil and kerosene to Iraq in return.
ButHeidari said the new plan includes exporting Iraqi crude “throughIranian regional waters”. Using the pipeline to send refined productsfrom Iran back to Iraq could be added later.
“We have anagreement but it was not activated, which is to export crude oil fromIraq to Iran to refine it and send back. The Iraqi side put that part asa second stage,” he said.
Iraq, which has the world’sthird-largest oil reserves, signed a series of deals with global oilfirms that could quadruple its crude output capacity to around 12million barrels per day. Iraq has plans to expand its oil exportingfacilities in anticipation of the rise in output.
(Source:Reuters)