Iran gas Export to Iraq Resumes

Iran gas export to Iraq, which was halted for about two weeks, has been resumed, the head of dispatching operations at the National Iranian Gas Company said.

“The halt of export to the neighboring country was based on a previous agreement and had been planned months ago,” Mohammad Reza Joulaei was also quoted as saying by IRNA.

Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity announced in a statement last week that the stoppage of gas imports for 12 days was due to the maintenance of gas transmission pipelines.

Joulaei also emphasized that cutting off gas flow to Iraq was completely technical, as the pipeline needed to be repaired and the two countries had agreed upon the issue six months ago.

Iran supplies gas through two pipelines to Iraqi power plants in Basra, Samawa, Nasiriyah and Diyala.

Provide sustainable energy supplies in Iraq

Iran signed a long-term strategic electricity contract with Iraq last August to provide its Arab neighbor with sustainable energy supplies.

Despite its large oil and gas reserves, Iraq relies on Iran for natural gas that generates as much as 45% of its 14,000 MW of daily electricity consumption.

The country also supplies another 1,000 megawatts directly, making itself an indispensable energy source for its Arab neighbor.

Iraq has secured special waivers from US sanctions on Iran to be able to import natural gas and electricity from its eastern neighbor.

The volume of gas exports to Iraq since the beginning of the current Iranian year [started March 2022] has increased by over 1.5 billion cubic meters compared with the same period of last year.

Iraq’s electricity production has increased by 22% compared with that of the previous year. However, as new power plants are set to be launched in Iraq in the coming months and they rely on natural gas as feedstock, the Arab country needs to increase its gas purchases from Iran.

Published: Feb 8, 2023

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