Iraq, Jordan eye oil and gas links

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BAGHDAD, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Western and Asian investors may take part in the construction of a dual oil and natural gas pipeline from Iraq to Jordan, a business leader said.

Iraqi Business Council President Majid Saadi was quoted by The Jordan Times as saying developers from the United States, Canada and China may take part in a March tender for "the largest economic event in the Arab world in 50 years."

Both sides, he said, are planning to start work on a feasibility study for the 1,000-mile double pipeline to deliver oil and natural gas to Jordan. The pipeline would run from the southern Iraqi port city of Basra through Anbar province and south to the Jordanian port city of Aqaba.

Jordan gets about 80 percent of its domestic energy demands met through imported natural resources. A pipeline that delivers natural gas feeds consumers in Israel and Jordan from the Sinai Peninsula has been the target of militant attacks more than a dozen times since the Egyptian revolution of 2011.

In June, Iraq approved a memorandum of understanding that spells out the terms for Aqaba developments. The project could take five years to build.

Iraq has seen international investors take a keen interest in its oil sector, though international political disputes have curtailed development.