On Feb. 20, the Iraqi Oil Ministry signed a memorandum of understanding with the Iranian Oil Ministry to settle disputes over the joint oil fields and examine the possibility of building a pipeline to export crude oil from the Kirkuk fields, in the north of Iraq, through Iran. The ministry also wants to study moving Iraqi crude oil to the Iranian Abadan refinery.
According to an Iraqi Oil Ministry statement, Iraqi Oil Minister Jabbar al-Luaibi agreed with his Iranian counterpart Bijan Zanganeh during the latter’s visit to Iraq on coordinating their stances in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to achieve balance in the global oil markets, support oil prices and study the construction of pipelines to export crude oil from Kirkuk fields through Iran.