Iranian and Iraqi officials this week inked a deal under which Iran is to deliver 700-1,200mn cfd of gas by pipeline to three power plants in the southern Iraqi city of Basra over six years. The announcement underlines Iraq’s chronic shortage of gas for power generation.
Iran says it can begin building the required pipelines and pressure boosting stations on the Iranian side of the border within the next 18 months. However, it is unclear when the necessary infrastructure, in particular the pipelines on the Iraqi side of the border, will be completed. The deal calls for Iran to supply up to 700mn cfd of gas in winter and 1.2bn cfd during the summer peak electricity demand period. Azizollah Ramezani, international affairs director of Iran’s state gas firm NIGC told the Iranian oil ministry’s Shana news service that 40 bcm of Iranian gas will be delivered to Iraq over the six years. (CONTINUED - 638 WORDS)
