Iraq has agreed to bring up the discount offered to Jordan on the Kirkuk crude oil to $22 per barrel in an amendment to a previous three-year deal under which the Kingdom was offered Brent crude oil at $18 lower than the international price per barrel. The shipments, the two sides agreed, would be loaded at Kirkuk with Jordan incurring the cost of transport. Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Khaldoun Qteishat was quoted by the Jordan News Agency "Petra" as saying Monday the decision came as a result of a follow-up on recent talks between Jordan and Iraq as regards providing the Kingdom with some of its oil needs during the recent visit of Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri Maliki to Jordan. The oil deal was also on the agenda of King Abdullah's talks with Maliki in Baghdad yesterday. --MORE