The Iraqi Energy Ministry hopes for supplies of Turkmen gas by the peak consumption season
Minister of Energy Ziad Ali Fadel spoke about the ministry’s plans to increase energy production, including those related to the import of energy resources from Turkmenistan and Qatar.
In an interview with The Iraqi News Agency, Fadel explained: “Our gas stations and production units are approximately 60% dependent on imported gas, and the reduction or cessation of its supply greatly affects production.”
He stated that there are short-term plans to reduce dependence on gas in the current period, represented by thermal energy projects using fuel available in the country. And there are long-term solutions related to the completion of investment projects for gas production.
Fadel noted that there was signed an agreement with Turkmenistan to import 20 million cubic meters of gas (per day). “The only problem we face is the lack of interconnectors that transport gas from Turkmenistan to Iraq other than through the Iranian network,” he explained. “We are negotiating... The Iranian side will use its network to transport these volumes, since these 20 million from Turkmenistan will ensure continuous gas supplies in the event that Iranian gas is stopped. This issue is currently being studied, and if an agreement is reached with Tehran, next summer it will be possible to use gas coming from Turkmenistan,” the minister said.
He continued: “The agreement with Iran, which has been implemented for many years, provides for the supply of 51 million cubic meters of gas per day to Iraq, and this amount covers our needs if the flow is stable, and 20 million cubic meters from Turkmenistan could be used as flow from Iranian side dwindles." He noted that “the Iranian side has reduced the volume of incoming gas during the winter, especially in the last two months, and this has been complicated by cold weather and internal demand for double quantities, as well as pipe maintenance,” adding that “the Ministry hopes for a return to normal flows from the onset of the holy month of Ramadan."
Regarding the import of gas from Qatar, the Minister of Energy explained that “negotiations are ongoing with the Qatari side on the import of liquefied gas, and its transportation is carried out by ships, which requires the Iraqi side to prepare a special platform or berth to receive it. The project will take two years to complete and once it is completed, “we will be able to import gas from Qatar and any country that can export gas to Iraq.”
As for next summer, when the heaviest loads fall, Fadel confirmed: “The Ministry of Energy hopes to reach a production of up to 27 thousand megawatts per day.”
In November 2023, Turkmenistan and Iraq signed a Protocol on the main commercial terms of the agreement on the sale of Turkmen natural gas to Iraq for a period of 5 years, 9 billion cubic meters annually under a swap scheme through Iran.
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