Iraq in talks to increase gas imports from Iran after paying debt

The spokesman of the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity says Baghdad is in talks with Tehran to increase its imports of gas from Iran.

Ahmed Musa said Iraq is currently importing 20 million cubic meters a day of gas from Iran, but it does not meet the needs of the country, leaving some power plants with limited load and leading to outages.

“Negotiations, meetings and periodic visits with the Iranian side … in order to increase the import of gas and the grid load during the winter and boost the rate of electricity production are underway,” Iraq’s Mawazine News quoted Musa as saying.

He said a delegation from Iraq will travel to Tehran to discuss the increase of Iranian gas supplies and full compliance with the terms of the contract between the two neighbors, especially after his country paid off its debt to the Islamic Republic.

Iraq’s demand for natural gas in its power sector is 55-60 million cubic meters per day, some 43 mcm of which is supplied by Iran.

In July, Minister of Energy Ali Akbar Mehrabian said Iran had signed a long-term strategic electricity contract with Iraq to provide its Arab neighbor with sustainable energy supplies.

Iraq relies on Iran for natural gas that generates as much as 45 percent of its 14,000 megawatts of electricity consumed daily. Iran transmits another 1,000 megawatts directly, making itself an indispensable energy source for its Arab neighbor.