ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Jordan is assessing the possibility of facilitating Iraqi oil exports through its territory, the country’s energy ministry said Friday, as Baghdad seeks alternative routes to export crude amid ongoing trade disruptions.
"Currently, there is no oil export from Iraq to Jordan, but we have been contacted by several parties to discuss the possibility of exporting black oil and crude oil through Jordanian territory,” spokesperson of Jordan’s energy ministry, Linda al-Abbadi, told Rudaw in a statement. She added that technical investigations are being conducted to determine the export volume and the capacity of Jordanian ports to receive it, after which a final decision will be made.
Baghdad’s exports have largely been halted since Iran effectively closed the strategic Strait of Hormuz following the war with the US and Israel on February 28. Since then, the federal government has been scrambling to find alternative routes to export its crude, which accounts for around 90 percent of the country’s revenues. Despite an ongoing ceasefire between Washington and Tehran, traffic remains restricted through the waterway.
Jordan has only one port, Aqaba, located on the northern part of the Red Sea.