Iraq insists it needs Turkmen gas supplies via Iran

Iraq has rejected reports it has abandoned a deal to import natural gas from Turkmenistan via Iran because of US objections, saying it desperately needs Turkmen gas supplies to respond to rising demand for fuel in its power plants.

News ID: 2001924

The spokesman of Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity said on Monday that gas imports from Turkmenistan would be the best available option for the Arab country to keep its power plants running in the next summer when electricity demand hits its peak.

Ahmad Musa said that Iraq is still trying to persuade the US to approve the deal and make it exempt from its sanctions on Iran.

The comments came days after the Reuters news agency claimed in a report that Iraq had failed to secure US approval to import more than 5 billion cubic meters per year of Turkmenistan’s gas via Iran under a swap deal signed between the three countries last year.

The report quoted a US source familiar with the matter as saying that the current administration in Washington would not approve the deal because it could benefit Iran.

It claimed that Iran would get up to 23% of the gas it receives from Turkmenistan for exports to Iraq as a transit fee.

Iraq’s plans to import gas from Turkmenistan via Iran come as the country relies on direct gas imports from Iran for 43% of its electricity generation needs. The country has secured rounds of waivers from US sanctions to be able to import gas from Iran.

Direct electricity imports from Iran also account for up to 10% of Iraq’s domestic demand for power./isna