Basra-Aqaba pipeline talks hint at conclusion

Nearly 30 years since the original agreement, Iraq’s route to the Red Sea may be in sight

Talks between Iraq and Jordan have reached “advanced stages” for the development of a cross-border oil pipeline that was originally proposed in 1983. According to Iraq’s Ministry of Oil (MoO), technical and commercial details are being ironed out for the 1,600km conduit, “providing that implementation costs are reduced to less than $9bn”. However, with estimates for the project’s construction costs ranging from $12-26bn, reaching this target will require major cost-cutting. Known as the Basra-Aqaba pipeline, the project is intended to carry crude from Iraq’s Rumaila oilfield in the oil-rich Basra governorate to Jordan’s Red Sea port of Aqaba. Under the terms of a 2013 agreement, the project