Tehran, Baghdad Poised to Sign Energy Agreements

EghtesadOnline: Iran and Iraq have come up with preliminary agreements to develop joint fields and expand cooperation in the gas sector, said Amirhossein Zamaninia, deputy oil minister for international affairs.

News ID: ۷۷۳۱۰۳

12 January 2017

Discussed during an Iranian delegation's visit to Iraq last week, the agreements are expected to be signed by the oil ministers of the two countries, IRNA reported.

"The first memorandum of understanding is on developing Parviz Oilfield adjoining Iraq's Naft Khaneh field and Khorramshahr Oilfield, known as Sinbad along the Iraqi border," he said.

Sinbad is located in the district of Shatt al-Arab near the Iraq-Iran border.

The second MoU covers gas exports, renovation of Iraqi refineries, manufacturing of equipment and holding training courses related to the oil and gas industry, according to Financial Tribune.

Iran and Iraq have developed a pipeline for the export of Iranian gas to power plants in Baghdad and Iraq's second-largest city Basra.

Export will reportedly begin at 7 million cubic meters per day and soar to a high of 35 mcm/d during the hot season, the time of the year marked by chronic outages in Iraq.

"We are now ready to start gas supply to Iraq," Zamaninia said, adding that the gas flow will begin once the two sides settle financial details.

The Iranian mission was made up of representatives from the NIOC and NIGC—state-owned oil and gas companies—and the Iranian Oil Pipeline and Telecommunications Company.

The trip also reportedly aimed to thrash out a new electricity export deal with the Arab neighbor, following the expiration of the previous contract at the end of last year.

"Negotiations also have been held over laying a pipeline between the city of Abadan in Khuzestan Province and Basra, Iraq's southeastern city, for the transfer of crude oil and petroleum products," Zamaninia said without providing details.