Egyptian delegation to visit Iraq "soon" to sign an oil import contract with Sumo




Bertha News Agency 6 2017-04-06

"A delegation from the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum will visit Iraq soon" to sign a contract to import 1 million barrels of crude oil per month for a year, Iraqi Ambassador to Egypt Habib al-Sadr said on Thursday.

"I am surprised by what was published today that the agreement is not continuing from the Egyptian side because I was on a visit to the minister last night and assured me that his country is moving ahead with its agreement with Iraq on supplying it with one million barrels of oil per month and can be increased for one year, .

"I informed the Egyptian minister that my government is ready and fully prepared to implement the agreement and has completed all the necessary arrangements and procedures to enforce it." The minister promised me that an Egyptian delegation would visit Iraq soon to sign the contract with the Iraqi oil marketing company, days."

Egypt agreed with Iraq in February to import 1 million barrels of crude oil per month for one year from March 1 initially, but the final contract did not sign and no deliveries of Iraqi oil to Egypt in March.

Egyptian Oil Minister Tariq al-Mulla said in a press statement that his country was still in negotiations with Iraq to import two million barrels of crude oil per month and that the contract would be signed soon.

The newspaper quoted sources as saying that "Egypt has asked Iraq to give them a year to pay the value of Basra crude, but Iraq agreed to 90 days only, which was not accepted by the government."

"The agreement provides for a grace period of 90 days from the date of receipt of the shipments," Sadr said. "The Egyptian minister assured us that Aramco only covers 20 percent of the country's oil needs."

"The extension of pipelines for oil and gas from Iraq to Jordan and then to Egypt ... The cost of extending the pipelines is six billion dollars and will take three years and we will soon start work on this strategic project to connect the Arab countries.

"The project will provide Jordan and Egypt needs and more than the needs will be exported to foreign markets."

In November 2015, Egypt signed a memorandum of understanding with Iraq and Jordan to supply Baghdad and Egypt with oil and gas.

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