Iraq Willing to Import Gas from Iran

Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani welcomed transit of Iranian gas to the Mediterranean Sea through a pipeline crossing his country, and meantime said that Iraq wants to import part of the gas supplies to feed its power plants. Shahristani confirmed that Iraq and Iran have agreed "in principle" to build a pipeline to transport gas from Iran through Iraq to the Syrian coasts on the Mediterranean Sea.

Tehran last week called on its partners in Baghdad and Damascus to come to Iran to discuss gas exports to the Mediterranean. The Iraqi oil minister told reporters earlier that his country welcomes the agreement because the transit fees to be levied on the pipeline would provide Baghdad with a good source of revenue. The pipeline could carry around 3.8 Bscf of gas per day through Iraq. Iranian officials said as much as 3.8 Mscf of gas per day could be used by Iraq to power electrical plants with gas, something Shahristani said was a key component of the deal. Iraq's Oil Ministry discussed the project two weeks ago with a Tehran delegation headed by Iranian Deputy Minister of Petroleum Javad Owji. The agreement came despite the West's growing pressures and sanctions against Iran's energy sectors. - Fars