A new five-year gas import agreement between Iraq and Iran was signed on Wednesday, according to the ministry of electricity in that country. The amount of gas imports is expected to exceed 50 million cubic meters per day.
In a statement, the Iraqi Ministry of energy stated that the amount will change based on the needs of the national grid. The statement went on to explain that the measure is intended to keep up with the growing demand for energy until the country’s gas fields are restored.
The United States government had earlier in March agreed to provide Baghdad more exemptions from paying Iran’s financial commitments in return for gas imports to fuel Iraq’s electrical power facilities.
According to the agreement reached between the two countries, Iran started selling gas to Iraq in 2017. On average, Iran provides Iraq with 25 million cubic meters of gas each day.
In previous years, Iran’s gas supplies to Iraq were curtailed owing to the severe wintertime gas shortage, and within a few weeks, the Iranian gas supply was entirely cut off, resulting in a power crisis in Iraq.
Thermal power facilities in Iraq generate around one-third of the country’s electricity using gas supplied from Iran.
