Iraqi Oil Minister Jabbar Ali al Luabi met with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir in Jeddah. According to a press release from the Riyadh Foreign Ministry, bilateral relations and ways to strengthen them are at the center of talks between Al Luaibi and Jubeir. The Iraqi oil minister on 8 August made an official visit to the Saudi kingdom, where he has already met the heir to the throne, Mohammad bin Salman, and the energy minister, Khaled al Falih. During the meeting between Al Falih and Al Luaibi he was confronted
the issue of bilateral cooperation in the energy sector and the commitment to the agreement to cut the oil output established by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opel) to stabilize the market was reaffirmed. "The next step in the development of economic relations concerns cooperation in trade and joint investment," said the Saudi Minister of Energy. Yesterday, 10 August, the heir to the Saudi throne and Riyadh Defense Minister, Mohammed bin Salman, met with Iraqi Oil Minister Al Luaibi for talks on the energy sector, the opening of land ports, the inauguration of direct flights between the two countries, increased trade and Saudi private sector investment in Iraq. The discussions also focused on "close cooperation between the two countries in oil policies"; in this regard, the two confirmed "the full commitment of both countries in the agreement to reduce oil output until the markets reach equilibrium". According to the dispatch of the "Spa" agency, the heir to the Saudi throne "reaffirmed the will of the Saudi government in favor of the stability of Iraq and the intention to develop and strengthen relations in all fields, in the interest of the peoples of both countries ”. Minister al Luaibi leads a high-level delegation to Saudi Arabia to discuss the strengthening of bilateral relations in the energy sector. In a press release released last August 9 by the oil ministry, Al Luaibi stressed that during the visit to the Gulf country the situation of the world oil market would be analyzed, in particular the coordination and efforts to achieve the objectives agreed by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to reduce oil production and try to rebalance the relationship between supply and demand. The minister also specified in the note that the high-level Iraqi delegation would discuss cooperation in the oil and gas sector, the possibility of investments in the sector, the creation of partnerships and joint ventures between companies of the two countries with the Saudi counterpart. , in addition to the creation of joint industry committees. The press release from the Ministry of Petroleum specifies that "this visit stems from the desire of the two countries to develop fraternal relations and expand the horizons of cooperation in the oil and gas and energy sectors". The note, released by the spokesman for the Assem Jihad ministry, specifies that "Iraq intends to use oil as an instrument of rapprochement with neighboring countries and the region". In this context, “the creation of joint strategic projects between the countries will contribute to the stability and prosperity of the region. Al Luaibi's visit continues the talks that took place in Baghdad during the visit of the delegation led by the Saudi Minister of Energy, Khalid al Falih, which took place last May 22 and aimed above all at obtaining the support of Baghdad for the extension until March 2018 of the agreement on the cut in oil production signed by OPEC countries and producers outside the Cartel in December in Vienna. Under the agreement, Iraq had to cut its output by 210 barrels a day. Iraq is the second largest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries after Saudi Arabia and the development of the oil sector remains one of the key points of Iraqi economic policy. The country has had to face the costly fight against the Islamic State since 2014, the weight of which on state castes has increased following the collapse of oil prices starting from the second half of 2014. Iraqi oil exports reached over 100 million barrels of oil in July with revenues of $ 4,386 billion, according to reports from the Oil Ministry last August XNUMX. The economic support of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries in general is essential in order to accelerate the various projects in the oil sector, in particular those in the downstream sector characterized by a large added value, compared to the simple export of crude oil. The relationship with Riyadh, with which Baghdad has recently strengthened relations, joins the consolidated relations with Iran, the main regional rival of the Saudi kingdom. On 6 August, during a visit by Al Luaibi to Tehran, the two countries reached an agreement for the construction of an oil pipeline that will export crude oil from the northern fields of Kirkuk to Iranian refineries. Iran and Iraq had signed a framework agreement in February that provided for the export of Iraqi oil through Iranian territory, an agreement which marked the stalemate in the energy sector of relations between the federal government of Baghdad and the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan, with which there is a dispute over the management of the proceeds of oil extracted in the north of the country and exported through the Turkish port of Ceyhan. Furthermore, the agreement with Tehran has rekindled the dispute over the Kirkuk fields, disputed between Baghdad and Erbil. During Al Luaibi's visit, the two countries also reached a preliminary agreement on joint investments in the Naft Khana oil field, in Diyala, and in Sindbad, in the province of Basra. Under the agreement, joint investments should be made to develop the fields, in the hope of signing a definitive contract in early 2018.
Source Nova Agency
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