Iraq-Iran oil pipeline to be operational next year

Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh today said that the construction of pipeline intended to transfer oil from Iran to Iraq, whose agreement was signed 10 months ago, is already underway and is expected to be implemented within a year, IRNA said.

Speaking to IRNA on the sidelines of inking a joint agreement in Tehran, "he referred to the understanding reached between the two countries in the domain of oil cooperation, he declared that two pipelines will be constructed between Abadan and Basra," IRNA said.

"Iran will take charge of the relevant executive and financial affairs of the project, whose details will be specified in the memoranda of understanding (MoUs) due to be mutually signed within a month..Purchase of 150,000 barrels of oil from Iraq, which is to be transferred from Basra to Abadan oil refinery, is one of the items included in the inked MoUs," he added.

Oil products "including petrol, oil, gas and kerosene refined at Abadan refinery will be transferred to Basra," IRNA said.