Iraq, Iran mull new crude pipeline

Iraq and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday to study the construction of a pipeline to export crude oil from the northern Iraqi fields of Kirkuk via Iran, the Iraqi oil ministry said in a statement.

The agreement, signed in Baghdad by the oil ministers of the two countries, also calls for a commission to solve a conflict about joint oil fields and the possible transportation of Iraqi crude to Iran’s Abadan refinery, it said.

The pipeline would help Iraq diversify the export routes of crude produced in Kirkuk and reduce its reliance on transit through the Kurdish Region Government’s territory.