Iraq agreed in principle on Monday to provide both Egypt and Sudan with crude oil to be purchased on credit, Egyptian state news agency MENA reported on Monday.

According to MENA, oil will begin being transferred once Egypt and Sudan obtain letters of credit from international banks and Iraq's cabinet issues its final approval of the deal.

Iraqi petroleum ministry spokesman Assem Gehad told Iraq’s semi-official Al-Sabah newspaper that the agreement, which had recently been signed with Egyptian counterparts, would ensure monthly shipments of four million barrels of crude oil to Egypt via the Sumo Oil Marketing Company.

In a related development, Egyptian Minister of Industry and Foreign Trade Hatem Salah announced in March that Egypt had agreed with Iraq to build crude oil pipelines linking the two countries.

The planned pipelines, which will pass through Jordan, will allow Egypt to refine Iraqi oil into consumable products, such as diesel fuel, gasoline and liquefied gas.

According to Salah, Egypt will benefit considerably from the project, which will guarantee it a stable and sustainable source of energy.