Iraqi crude exports to Jordan frozen nine months, oil ministry says

Summary

• Iraq has shipped no crude to Jordan since the end of December 2025.
• Amman previously took about 10,000 barrels per day, roughly 7% of its needs.
• Talks have failed for months, with Baghdad pressing to cut tanker transport fees.

The latest

Iraqi crude shipments to Jordan have been at a complete standstill since the end of December 2025, with negotiations this year failing to restart supplies to Amman. Oil ministry spokesperson Salim al-Rikabi told Attaqa News the suspension is tied to commercial matters and other issues involving Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization, SOMO, and the Jordanian side.

Details

• The official line: Al-Rikabi, speaking for the Iraqi Oil Ministry, attributed the halt to commercial considerations and other factors linked to SOMO and its Jordanian counterpart. He did not set a date for resuming shipments or say what would need to change for the crude to start moving again.
• The sticking point: Informed sources said Baghdad is insisting on lower tanker transport fees as a condition of any new agreement. Months of talks over the terms have produced no breakthrough, and the crude trucked overland to Jordan has remained suspended throughout.
• The volumes: Jordan used to receive roughly 10,000 barrels per day of Iraqi crude before shipments stopped at the end of 2025. That covered about 7% of the kingdom's oil requirements, leaving Amman to source the balance from other suppliers.
• The cliff edge: Jordan imported no Iraqi oil in January. That compares with approximately 309,712 barrels in December 2025, the final month of deliveries, a drop from a full pipeline of supply to zero within a single month.
• Before the stop: Iraqi supplies to Jordan stood at around 299,824 barrels in November 2025. Combined with the December figure, that points to a steady flow of roughly 300,000 barrels per month in the period immediately preceding the suspension.
• The contract: The previous annual supply contract expired on June 26, 2025. A three-month extension then ran from October through December, intended to complete delivery of specified volumes that had been held up by logistical challenges.
• The gap: The extension expired at the end of December and was not replaced. Since then the two governments have negotiated without agreeing new terms, and no successor contract has been announced by either the Iraqi Oil Ministry or SOMO.
• The timeline: The freeze has now run for nine months, from the close of 2025 through late September 2026. Al-Rikabi's remarks are the oil ministry's public confirmation that supplies remain fully halted rather than merely reduced or intermittent.

Background

Iraq has long supplied Jordan with discounted crude trucked overland under renewable annual contracts, with volumes and transport fees set each year. The arrangement gives Amman cheaper barrels and gives Baghdad a stable regional customer outside its seaborne export program.

Between the lines

The dispute reads as narrow rather than political: al-Rikabi framed it in commercial terms, and the reported sticking point is the tanker transport fee. But the cost of failure is asymmetric. Iraq loses about 300,000 barrels a month from a small overland channel, while Jordan loses roughly 7% of its oil supply and must replace it at market prices from other sources.

What's next

Watch for a new annual supply contract or another short extension between SOMO and Amman, any Jordanian energy ministry statement on replacement suppliers, and monthly import data showing whether the zero figure recorded in January persists.

Source: Iraqi News, Attaqa News