Iran and Iraq to construct oil swapping pipeline

Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said that upon an agreement between Iran and Iraq, construction of a pipeline carrying Iran's oil to Basra in southern Iraq will be started; the pipeline is aimed at swapping oil between the two countries.
"Iran has agreed to construct the pipeline to swap oil with Iraq, however, development of the project requires further negotiations with Iraqi officials", noted the oil minister, adding that implementation of the project initially calls for more stability in Iraq.

He also said that if completed, Iran would receive 370,000 to 380,000 barrels of oil per day from Iraq, while pumping the same volume of oil from its oil terminal in Kharg Island.
Iran's oil minister further stated that since Iraq is currently facing shortages in supply of the oil products, Iran has decided to fulfil Iraq's requirements, with the exception of gasoline, kerosene and gas oil.

In another development, Namdar Zanganeh told that during the 20-Year Outlook Plan, Iran's per capita income would increase to over $ 10,000. He explained that Iran's mineral and natural resources are over $ 6 tn which equals Japan's annual gross domestic product (GDP) and 60 % of the total GDP of the United States.
Referring to reducing the oil prices, he commented that OPEC could not do anything in this regard, because it is working with all its capacity. He, however, predicted that the prices would remain high in the coming years.

Meanwhile, an Iranian oil delegation headed by the oil minister, will leave for Islamabad to resume talks on the controversial issue of Iran's natural gas transfer to India via Pakistan.
The talks have gained some momentum, due to the improvement in relations between India and Pakistan.