Aqaba city in Jordan
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
Also in this section
9 January 2026
The Latin American producer’s crude prospects rely on a multi-pronged approach where even the relatively easy wins will take considerable time, effort and cost
9 January 2026
While many forecasters are reasserting the importance of oil and gas, petrostates should be under no illusion things are changing, and faster than they might think
8 January 2026
Indonesia and Malaysia are at the dawn of breathtaking digital capabilities. Their energy infrastructure must keep up with their ambitions
8 January 2026
The next five years will be critical for the North Sea, and it will be policy not geology that will decide the basin’s future
