Iran to import Iraq's oil
13-04-09
Iran has announced plans to import up to 200,000 barrels of oil per day
from Iraq to feed a refinery in the oil-rich province of Khuzestan.
Talks are underway to finalize a deal to import Iraq's light crude through a
pipeline connecting Iraq's main oil hub of Basra to the Iranian oil-rich
city of Abadan, Iran's Deputy Oil Minister Noureddin Shahnazizadeh was
quoted as saying.
In return for oil imports from Iraq, Iran has agreed to supply Iraq with 1.5
mm tons of fuel oil and 1.5 mm tons of diesel fuel per day. The 200,000 bpd
of oil imported from Iraq will be used to feed part of a refinery in the
south-western province of Khuzestan.
Iran is the second-biggest oil producer in the Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC). However, only part of its gasoline needs is
produced in the country while thousands of dollars are spent for gasoline
imports.
Iraq is the holder of the world's third-largest oil reserves. However, six
years of conflict following the US invasion has battered the country's oil
industry, hindering its ability to quickly increase production.
Iraq is attracting investors in a bid to push cash into its economy and
boost its oil output to about 6 mm bpd by 2015, from about 2.5 mm bpd
currently produced.
Source: http://www.tehrantimes.com
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