A long-drawn-out Jordanian oil pipeline tender is expected come to an end next month. The Jordanian energy ministry announced it plans to select a winner in January 2003. The three finalists are British, Russia and Omani firms, reported AP. The tender’s financial close has been set for May 2003.
The Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) contract provides for the construction of a 750-kilometer pipeline that will connect the eastern Zarqa oil refinery in Jordan with the Al-Haditha oil wells in Iraq, northwest of Baghdad. The pipeline will have an estimated capacity of transporting 350,000 barrels of crude oil from Iraq to Jordan per day.
Jordan will cover the cost of a 300-kilometer stretch of pipeline across its territories and Iraq will cover the remainder of the costs. A total of 35 international companies have submitted bids for the Jordanian section. Construction of the $250 million project is expected to be completed within 15 months of the selection date.
Iraq is the Kingdom's only source of oil and oil derivatives, importing five million tons in 2001. Currently the oil is carried by tanker truck. Jordan receives half of its oil from Iraq for free, while the remaining portion is sold to the Kingdom at a concession price, four to five dollars less than the world market price. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
