Iraq and Iran reached an agreement on Thursday for Iranian gas supplies to Iraq to resume, with Baghdad repaying debts owed to Tehran, Iraqi Electricity Minister Adel Karim was quoted by the state news agency as saying.
In December 2021, the electricity ministry said the reduction in Iranian gas supplies had caused a power loss of around 3,400 megawatts.
An Iraqi delegation, headed by Karim, visited Tehran on Tuesday to discuss the resumption of Iranian gas supplies.
The visit proceeded “positively” as the two sides had reached an agreement to resume natural gas supplies to Baghdad, Ahmed Mousa, spokesperson for the Iraqi electricity ministry told state media on Thursday.
“The visit emphasised on raising the volume of imported gas to Iraq and releasing it in amounts that would suffice the Iraqi need and paying the amounts of debt,” Mousa stated, adding that “the ministry hopes to add four thousand megawatts with an entry of additional … units, to raise production to 25 thousand megawatts in the summer.”
The trip came less than two weeks after Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi directed the electricity ministry to assign a team to discuss natural gas supplies with Iran.
Iraq, with a population of some 41 million people, is grappling with a major energy crisis and suffers regular power cuts.
Despite its immense oil and gas reserves, Iraq remains dependent on imports to meet its energy needs.
Neighbouring Iran currently provides a third of Iraq’s gas and electricity demand, but supplies are regularly cut or reduced, aggravating daily load shedding.
Iraq expects to be sent 55 million cubic feet of gas from Iran starting May 1, more than double the 25 million it receives at the moment, the electricity minister said.
Source: The Arab Weekly
