Iran, Iraq Sign Deal to Swap Kirkuk Oil
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran and Iraq have signed an agreement whereby the two neighboring countries would swap up to 60,000 barrels per day of crude produced from the northern Iraqi Kirkuk oilfield for Iranian oil, Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi said.
According to the terms of the agreement, Iran would deliver “oil of the same characteristics and in the same quantities” as those it would receive from Kirkuk, Luaibi said in a statement on Saturday, Reuters reported.
Iranian oil would be delivered to Iraq’s southern ports.
The deal in effect allows Iraq to resume sales of Kirkuk crude, which have been halted since Iraqi forces took back control of the fields from the Kurds in October.
Between 30,000 and 60,000 bpd of Kirkuk crude will be delivered by tanker trucks to the border area of Kermanshah, where Iran has a refinery, Luaibi said.
The two countries are planning to build a pipeline to carry the oil from Kirkuk, so as to avoid trucking the crude, he said.
The pipeline could replace the existing export route from Kirkuk via Turkey and the Mediterranean by pipeline.