Iraq Will Depend on Iran Energy Imports, Trade Routes

Hamid Hosseini, the Secretary of the Iranian Union of Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Product Exporters (OPEX), said that Iraq will need increased volumes of natural gas ( Natural Gas Exports to Iraq ) in the years to come to meet rising demand for energy in its household and manufacturing sectors.

“We will remain an exporter of electricity and natural gas to Iraq for years to come,” Hosseini told the ILNA news agency. He said, however, that Iraq may be able to increase its own gas production to meet part of the demand for fuel in its power plants.

The comments came a day after Fuad Hussein, the Iraqi minister of foreign affairs, told Bloomberg Television that Iraq has had “good discussions” with US companies and officials about gas investments in the country to help it end reliance on imports from Iran.

Iraq has secured rounds of waivers from US sanctions on Iran to be able to import gas from its western neighbor. The country also relies on Iran for a considerable part of its demand for electricity.

However, Hosseini said that Iraq will also need to rely on Iran for its trade demands in the future, adding that ports in the country will not be able to respond to a growing demand for imports of goods and products.

“Iraq has no option but to import 20-25 million tons of its demands either via the Iranian transit routes or through buying Iranian products,” he said, adding that it would be impossible to imagine an Iraqi market without the presence of Iran as a main player. - Press TV