DUBAI: Iraq and Oman signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in the oil and gas sector, including the possibility of building a shared refinery in Oman for processing imported Iraqi crude, the Iraqi oil ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

Iraq will aim to export crude to Oman, according to the MoU, import oil products from there and build oil storage facilities in both countries, the statement quoted Iraqi oil minister Thamer Ghadhban as saying.

"The MoU aims at studying the possibility of building a shared oil refinery in the Sultanate of Oman to process the crude oil imported from Iraq," Ghadban said.

The two countries will also explore prospects of cooperation and investment in exploring and producing oil and gas. In addition to refining, manufacturing, storing and marketing crude oil and oil products between them, the ministry statement said.