Jordan, Iraq and Egypt have signed a Memorandum of Understanding,MoU, under which natural gas will be supplied from Iraq to Jordan and Egypt. Jordan's Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Mohammad Hamed said the plan is to connect the natural gas fields in Iraq to the Arab Gas Pipeline, which stretches from Egypt's Arish in northern Sinai through Jordan to Lebanon. When the natural gas fields in Iraq are connected to the pipeline, natural gas can be supplied to Jordan, Egypt and other countries where the pipeline exists such as Syria and Lebanon as well.The 18 billion U.S. dollar oil pipeline, which will transfer one million barrels of oil per day from Basra to Aqaba, will be completed in early 2018. Iraqi oil minister said that Iraq seeks to extend the pipeline to Egypt to use it as a gateway to transport its oil to other African countries.Egyptian Oil Minister Sherif Ismail said, Egypt was ready to process and refine the Iraqi crude oil that will reach through the pipeline at its refineries and help export it to other African states. The agreement is expected to give a boost to energy needs of Jordan and the neighbouring countries. Jordan, which imports about 96 percent of its energy needs annually, is planning to implement several oil shale and renewable energy projects for the production of electricity. The majority of these projects are expected to be operational in 2018.