Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 20
By Emil Ilgar – Trend:
Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh left Tehran for Baghdad to finalize the energy deals achieved earlier between the two neighbors, SHANA reported Feb. 20.
Iran and Iraq finalized a memorandum of understanding on Jan. 10 to develop two joint oil fields. The fields are Parviz and Khorramshahr (called South Naftkhana and Sinbad in Iraq).
“The MoUs would be signed soon,” Amir Hossein Zamaninia, deputy minister for trade and international affairs of Iran, told SHANA then.
Zamaninia didn’t mention the volume of oil reserves in these fields, but both are small and undeveloped projects. He also said that Iran has finalized an MoU with Iraq in mid/downstream cooperation, including renewing Iraq’s refineries.
Iran has also signed two agreements to export 25 million cubic meters of gas per day to each of Iraq’s Baghdad and Basra refineries.
Iran says it is ready to start gas deliveries to Baghdad in restricted amount after Iraq pays off its debts to Iran for construction of gas pipeline on its territory.
However, Zamaninia said that Iran is waiting for opening a letter of credit (LC) to ensure the payments of the gas deal.
“As soon as an LC is opened we can start gas export to Baghdad," he said.
Iran should complete the 6th cross-country pipeline (IGAT6) to be able to export 50 mcm/d of gas to Iraq in future.
IGAT6, with 110 mcm/d of transit capacity (to transit gas to Iran’s western regions as well), is already under construction and will cost $2.3 billion, Iran says.
