AMMAN, Jordan, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- Iraq aims to boost its regional position in the energy sector by building a crude oil pipeline for deliveries to neighboring Jordan, a government spokesman said.
Iraq holds some of the largest oil reserves in the world. Iraq exports as much as 10,000 barrels of oil per day to Jordan using vehicle deliveries. Ali al-Dabbagh, a spokesman for the Iraqi government, was quoted by Bloomberg News as saying Baghdad was ready to build an oil pipeline to Jordan.
"Iraq and Jordan have agreed in principle to build a pipeline network to carry crude oil to the refinery in Zarqa (north of Amman)," he was quoted as saying.
Dabbagh said Baghdad plans to invite bids this year for the construction of oil and gas pipelines to feed Syrian markets and expand export options beyond terminals in the Turkish waters of the Mediterranean Sea.
The Jordanian government, for its part, aims to bring in roughly $14 billion in energy investments as it predicts domestic fuel consumption to increase by as much as 30 percent during the next decade.
