BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 11. Iraq is negotiating with official Tehran to import Turkmen gas through Iran, Iraqi Electricity Minister Ziyad Ali Fadel said, Trend reports.
According to him, during their visit to Turkmenistan, the Iraqi
delegation inked a contract with the Turkmen side for the daily
import of 20 million cubic meters of gas.
Iraq's Minister of Electricity stated that the primary concern at
the moment is the transfer of Turkmen gas to Iraq via Iranian
pipelines. Iraq picked this alternative due of a lack of Iranian
gas exported to Iraq.
Fadel noted that, Iraq has paid Iran in full for gas purchases.
These funds were deposited in a designated account at the Trade
Bank of Iraq. However, due to international sanctions on Iran, the
payment process has not improved. According to a bilateral deal,
Iranian gas will be traded for Iraqi fuel oil.
The Iraqi minister said that under the multi-year gas import agreement between Iraq and Iran, 51 million cubic meters of gas is imported daily from Iran. While gas imports from Iran have decreased, 20 million cubic meters of gas can be imported from Turkmenistan.
To note, the agreement to export Iranian gas to Iraq was signed in 2013.
Meanwhile, Iran currently produces an average of 259 billion cubic meters of gas per year, averaging more than 800 million cubic meters of gas per day.
The US imposed new sanctions against Iran in November 2018. Over the past period, the sanctions have affected Iranian oil exports, and more than 700 banks, companies, and individuals. The sanctions led to the freezing of Iran's assets abroad.
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