CAIRO (Reuters) -- Egypt's Petroleum Minister Tarek El Molla said his country was seeking to reach an agreement with Iraq over importing crude oil directly and that he hoped to finalize the deal by the first quarter of 2017.
El Molla told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) that Egypt aims to import between 1 million and 2 million barrels per month from Iraq.
The move follows Saudi Arabia informing Egypt in last month that shipments of oil products expected under a $23 billion aid deal had been halted indefinitely.
