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Iraq’s Parliamentary Oil and Gas Committee has told the Finance Ministry to unlock funds approved recently by the Cabinet for the construction of an oil export pipeline in the Southern Basra city and rehabilitation of a key terminal in the area.
The Committee said in a statement that it discussed the “Sealine 3” subsea crude oil export pipeline project and the operation of Khor Al-Amaya oil export terminal port at a meeting on Tuesday with representatives of the Oil Ministry, the state-run Basra Oil Company and other government offices.
In a statement carried by Aliqtisad News and other Iraqi publications on Wednesday, the Committee noted that the cabinet approved $416.9 million for the project in July but that the Finance Ministry has not yet released the funds.
“After the meeting, the Committee decided to oblige the Finance Ministry to allocate those funds to carry out the project for the rehabilitation of the oil export pipeline and the operation of Khor Al-Amaya Port…this will allow Iraq to increase oil production by 500,000 bpd and avert the loss of two million bpd if these projects are not executed.”
The statement said the project should also include rehabilitation of oil storage tanks in Faw Port and the existing pipelines, which it said have become very old as they were built more than 50 years ago.
The Iraqi cabinet in July approved the funds for the “Sealine 3” subsea oil export pipeline project, to be carried out by Dutch firm Boskalis and funded by a Japanese loan.
The move came two weeks after the ministers suspended a prior approval for the project granted in May, citing the need for “a review of the new contract.”
(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)
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