An agreement is expected to be reached soon between the two countries to start the process of floating tenders to implement the scheme, Jordanian and Iraqi officials said Wednesday during the Basra Investment Conference, according to Jordantimes.

“Today, we are here to announce this mega-project between Iraq and Jordan, which enjoy historic distinguished ties,” Iraqi Business Council (IBC) President Majid Saadi said during the forum, according to the news website. 

He added that the project will help enhance cooperation between the two countries and help boost the Jordanian economy, noting that Iraqi investments in Jordan in different sectors exceed $11 billion.

If realized, the pipeline could provide a substitute to seaborne transport of oil through the Strait of Hormuz after Iran threatened last year to block it if the West imposed more sanctions overs its nuclear program.  The pipeline  would also deliver a significant export outlet for Iraq’s growing crude-oil production.

The pipeline is slated to run from Iraq’s southern of Basra to Anbar province and then to Jordan’s port city of Aqaba. according to Hurriyet daily. 

Jordan is heavily dependent on imported oil and gas, as 96 percent of its oil and gas come from other markets. The Arab uprisings  in two of Jordan’s strategic economic partners, Egypt and Syria, had a dire economic impact. Losses from disruption of Egyptian gas to the country, alone stand at a massive $1.8 billion.

Oil Ministry spokesman Assem Jihad said that Iraq earned $6.453 billion in June compared to $7.831 billion in May, AFP reported.

He said June’s exports averaged 2.403 million barrels a day, down from an average of 2.452 million barrels in May. Domestic demand in Iraq usually increases during the hot summer months, mainly for running private generators, AFP reported.

Iraq holds the world’s fourth largest oil reserves, 143.1 billion barrels. Crude revenues make up nearly 95 per cent of its budget.

The decline in revenues challenges oil-dependent Iraq, as decades of US-led sanctions, war and occupation have hammered the sector which needs hundreds of billions of dollars for reconstruction after the withdrawal of the last U.S. troops late last year, according to Arabian Gazette. 

Still analysts say that Iraq is expected to overtake Iran as the second-largest exporter in OPEC soon, especially after new EU sanctions took effect on July 1 to punish Iran for its controversial nuclear weapons program.

The strategic Hormuz bypass pipeline allows the UAE to pump oil and helps end the OPEC producer’s total dependence on the vital Gulf Ship route which Iran has threatened to block as western sanctions on its oil exports tighten. A European Union ban on Iranian crude imports is due to come into effect on July 1.

Escalating tensions in the Gulf region over the last year have prompted the UAE to speed up work on the long-delayed pipeline while other Gulf OPEC producers Kuwait and Qatar will continue to rely on shipping through the Strait to export fuel, according to Arabian Gazette.

Almost 17 million barrels of oil were shipped between the northern tip of Oman and the southern coast of Iran in 2011, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The 480-km pipeline with a capacity of up to 1.5 million barrels per day runs through the mountainous emirate and will reroute bulk of the country’s oil exports around the Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Gulf, the waterway for a fifth of the world’s oil supply, according to Reuters.  The UAE’s total oil exports are 2.4 million bpd.

According to statistics from Korea National Oil Corp, a state-run institution, Seoul imported a total of 25.25 million barrels from Iran during the first four months of 2011, representing a 10% decrease from the 28.1 million barrels during the same period a year ago. The increase of imports in April accounted to 7.5 million barrels, a 42% rise from the same period last year.

“The increase in Iran crude oil imports in April might be because they are importing more in advance due to given notice about halting Iran crude oil imports,” Yoo Young-kook, senior analyst at KTB Investment & Securities Co, said, ” according to Arabian gazzette.

“Another scenario is that there might be an expectation that Iran sanctions will be resolved positively so the purchase is increasing,” he added.

There are  two South Korean oil refineries which import Iranian crude:  SK Energy and Hyundai Oilbank. According to reports, both refineries have annual deals to increase oil imports from Iran in 2012. SK Energy has stated it will stop importing Iranian oil in July when the European Union’s sanctions come into effect.

South Korea is the fourth-largest importer of Iranian oil. S. Korea is trying to make up for the losses by seeking deals with other Middle East countries like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, and Qatar, Arabiangazzete reported.

The US and the EU have imposed tough financial sanctions as well as oil embargoes against Iran since the beginning of 2012, claiming that the country’s nuclear energy program includes a military component.

Tehran refutes such acussations, insisting its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

Dynacom Tankers Management said it had lost contact with the crew of the following the attack off Oman at 11:15 GMT on Thursday, according to AP.

Dynacom did not give further details but a Kenya-based piracy expert, Andrew Mwangura, said Smyrni was headed for Somalia while it is reported to have a crew of about 15 on board, composed of Indians and Filipinos, Al Jazeera reported.

The hijack success rate for Somali pirates has declined  in recent months, which 
has been attributed to plans by several countries to allow ships using their flags to sail with armed guards. It has not been reported, however, whether the Smyrni had such guards on board. On board the vessel.

Although 
the recent changes in Greek law were established to permit armed guards on Greek-flagged vessels, even though Liberia also permits armed guards on its flag vessels; recent reports from Greece claim that the vessel did not have a security team embarked, OceanUSlive.Org reported. 

Ealier on Wednesday, pirates fired rocket-propelled grenades at a crude tanker 56km east of Socotra, an island located between Yemen and Somalia’s lawless coastline, OceanUSlive.org said.

Seaborne gangs have raked in an estimated $150m in ransoms in what has become a highly organised, international criminal enterprise, experts say.

EU naval ships are currently on patrol off the Horn of Africa in an effort to protect vessels.

JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp, Japan’s top refiner, says it would not be able to carry on importing oil from Iran.

Kuwait and top exporter Saudi Arabia are the main beneficiaries of the fall in Iranian shipments, along with new suppliers such as Gabon, as Japan buys more oil for firing generators following last year’s nuclear disaster, according to Reuters.

Earlier this year, China halved imports of crude from Iran, while an Iranian official denied that, in a statement to Mehr news agency, today.

While India has leaped to the top of the list of Iran’s oil customers, overtaking China, in a first-quarter buying surge ahead of tighter sanctions against Tehran this summer, according to data published by a leading industry consultant.

Iran sells most of its 2.2 million barrels per day of oil exports in Asia, where China, India, Japan and South Korea make up its four biggest buyers.

The United States and Europe have imposed tighter sanctions on Iran in an attempt makes to force it to halt a nuclear program they fear will be used to make weapons, which Tehran denies.

The EU had been the second biggest buyer of Iranian oil after China and its embargo is a direct strike on the biggest source of export income for Iran, the second largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Alarabiya reported.