Iran’s Involvement: Turkmenistan exceptional deal to supply Iraq with gas

The deputy leader of the Iraqi parliamentary committee on energy and power, Hassan Al-Asadi, disclosed on Saturday a “exception” in the gas deal between Iraq and Turkmenistan.

“The Iraqi government could sign a contract with Iran under an exception in the gas agreement with Turkmenistan,” according to Al-Asadi, who made this statement last year. According to his explanation, “the agreement stipulated that Iraq would import gas from southern Iran and buy gas from Turkmenistan, who would then supply gas to northern Iran.”

“The agreement would benefit Iraq and resolve the issue of paying for the gas imported from Iran, which faced US sanctions,” he added in his statement. “The issue of imported gas has not yet been resolved and will be addressed by concluding the agreement with Turkmenistan,” he continued. “Some of the needs of the electric power stations will be met by the gas imports.”

On June 10, 2023, Ziyad Ali Fadel, Iraq’s Minister of Electricity, and the Minister of State for Gas Affairs of Turkmenistan signed a memorandum of agreement to provide gas to Iraq.

Notably, Iraq gets between thirty-three and forty percent of its power and gas from Iran. This is vital, particularly in the summer when it may get as hot as 50°C and there is a big demand for electricity. Due to US sanctions, Iraq finds it difficult to pay for these imports since Iran can only use the money it receives to purchase non-sanctioned products like food and medicine.

A five-year gas agreement between Iraq and Turkmenistan was reached in November 2023, outlining the primary requirements for Iraq to purchase Turkmen gas. According to the agreement, Iran would get 9 billion cubic meters of gas annually from Turkmenistan and would export the same quantity to Iraq.