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Possibility pumping oil israel { August 25 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=332835&contrassID=2&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Yhttp://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=332835&contrassID=2&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y
U.S. checking possibility of pumping oil from northern Iraq to Haifa, via Jordan
Monday, August 25, 2003 Av 27, 5763
By Amiram Cohen
The United States has asked Israel to check the
possibility of pumping oil from Iraq to the oil
refineries in Haifa. The request came in a
telegram last week from a senior Pentagon official
to a top Foreign Ministry official in Jerusalem.
The Prime Minister's Office, which views the pipeline to
Haifa as a "bonus" the U.S. could give to Israel in return
for its unequivocal support for the American-led campaign in
Iraq, had asked the Americans for the official telegram.
The new pipeline would take oil from the
Kirkuk area, where some 40 percent of
Iraqi oil is produced, and transport it via
Mosul, and then across Jordan to Israel. The
U.S. telegram included a request for a cost
estimate for repairing the Mosul-Haifa pipeline
that was in use prior to 1948. During the War
of Independence, the Iraqis stopped the flow of
oil to Haifa and the pipeline fell into
disrepair over the years.
The National Infrastructure Ministry has
recently conducted research indicating that
construction of a 42-inch diameter pipeline
between Kirkuk and Haifa would cost about
$400,000 per kilometer. The old Mosul-Haifa
pipeline was only 8 inches in diameter.
National Infrastructure Minister Yosef Paritzky
said yesterday that the port of Haifa is an
attractive destination for Iraqi oil and that
he plans to discuss this matter with the U.S.
secretary of energy during his planned visit to
Washington next month. Paritzky added that the
plan depends on Jordan's consent and that
Jordan would receive a transit fee for allowing
the oil to piped through its territory. The
minister noted, however, that "due to pan-Arab
concerns, it will be hard for the Jordanians to
agree to the flow of Iraqi oil via Jordan and
Israel."
Sources in Jerusalem confirmed yesterday that
the Americans are looking into the possibility
of laying a new pipeline via Jordan and Israel.
(There is also a pipeline running via Syria
that has not been used in some three decades.)
Iraqi oil is now being transported via Turkey to
a small Mediterranean port near the Syrian
border. The transit fee collected by Turkey is
an important source of revenue for the country.
This line has been damaged by sabotage twice in
recent weeks and is presently out of service.
In response to rumors about the possible
Kirkuk-Mosul-Haifa pipeline, Turkey has warned
Israel that it would regard this development as
a serious blow to Turkish-Israeli relations.
Sources in Jerusalem suggest that the American
hints about the alternative pipeline are part
of an attempt to apply pressure on Turkey.
Iraq is one of the world's largest oil
producers, with the potential of reaching about
2.5 million barrels a day. Oil exports were
halted after the Gulf War in 1991 and then were
allowed again on a limited basis (1.5 million
barrels per day) to finance the import of food
and medicines. Iraq is currently exporting
several hundred thousand barrels of oil per
day.
During his visit to Washington in about two
weeks, Paritzky also plans to discuss the
possibility of U.S. and international
assistance for joint Israeli-Palestinian
projects in the areas of energy and
infrastructure, natural gas, desalination and
electricity.
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