Dubai—Iraq’s Oil Ministry has pushed back deadlines for bids again for its planned 1 million b/d crude oil export pipeline to Jordan by four months to November, a source close to the project said Wednesday. Technical submissions had been due in September, having been pushed back from the original May deadline, but were delayed again after requests from the nine bidding consortia. Although the delay is only three months, there are now serious concerns among the bidders that the project will be put on hold indefinitely while Iraq faces the challenge of insecurity from Islamic State (IS) militant forces. State Company for Oil Projects, a subsidiary of the Oil Ministry, launched the tender in November 2013 and had hoped to conclude negotiations with a preferred bidder by the end of 2014.
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