Will Iraq ever shift away from Iranian gas?

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - MPs in Baghdad have given conflicting accounts of Iraq’s ability to wean itself off of Iranian gas imports following a short waiver granted by the US last month. 

Iraq has suffered from severe power shortages since the 1990s, worsened by decades of war, sanctions and terror attacks – leaving Iraqis at times with just five hours of electricity per day.

To make up for the shortage in electricity production, Iraq has been  importing electricity and gas to power its electricity stations from  neighboring Iran, much to the ire of Washington. 

The US granted Iraq a last-minute waiver last month to import  Iranian gas for its crippled power grids, despite US sanctions on Tehran.

The waiver protects Iraq from financial penalties despite dealings with Iran, which are usually punished by the US. 

But Washington’s patience seems to be running out, granting a much shorter waiver of 45 days, in contrast to the usual 90 or 120. 

Ahmed Musa, a spokesperson for Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity told Rudaw  English on Thursday that Iraq has taken "serious and important" steps towards independence from Iranian imports.

“The Iraqi government sent an official request to Washington that Iraq is in need of another waiver, and the US accepted…because Iraq has taken serious steps to look for alternatives in the region for electricity and gas, and the US has noticed that,” Musa said. 

“Iraq's electricity ministry is now in the process of connecting Iraq with Jordan, Gulf countries and Turkey to  import electricity,” he added, noting that Baghdad is also looking to benefit from long-neglected local gas sources. 

In early January, the ministry announced a deal with  Gulf countries to import 500  megawatts of electricity.  

Musa confirmed to Rudaw English that the imports will begin by October.

Iraq made other deals with Western companies last  year, such as Honeywell, Siemens, and General Electric in  order to develop Iraq’s frail electricity infrastructure, demonstrating to Washington that  Baghdad is keen to shift away from Iranian gas imports.

However, Iran still exports 1200-1500 megawatts of electricity to Iraq on a daily basis, in addition to 38 million cubic meters of natural  gas to feed several of Iraq’s power stations, Sayyid  Hamid Hosseini, a member of the Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce  confirmed in September 2019.

Hosseini said on Monday that ”Iran's exports to Iraq are continuing” and border activity remains high despite action taken to stem the spread of coronavirus across the border, which has hit Iran hard. 

Rebwar Taha, a Kurdish MP on the Iraqi Parliament’s Oil and Gas committee told Rudaw English on Thursday that it is very difficult  for Iraq to ease its reliance on Tehran’s resources.

“Iraq can not shift away its dependence on Iranian gas that soon, and  that is because the projects and plans Iraq has to implement take years, and I doubt Iraq has any alternative than Iran for gas at the  moment,” Taha said.

“Iraq has Akkas field in Anbar province, which contains the best kind of  gas in the region, but Iraq has been refusing to invest,” Taha added.

 The lack of a stable government in Baghdad is also rendering new projects “impossible,” he concluded.

Iraq has been witnessing protests since October 1 in central and southern areas of the country. At least 600 people died and more than  18,000 others wounded during the clashes between protesters and  security members, according to Amnesty International.

MP Aram Naji Balatay, also on the parliamentary committee, told Rudaw English on Thursday that Iraq is capable of shifting away from its dependence on Iranian gas, but not until  political stability resumes in the country.

“Iraq is capable to shift away from Iranian gas, but the current Iraqi  electricity network, and the situation in the country makes the job impossible,” Balatay said.

Balatay also said Iraqi  government has no other choice but to continue the imports of gas from Iran as Iraq heads into the summer season, when the electricity demand soars under high temperatures.

“During summer, Iraq will demand more electricity, and Iraq cannot  make deals and new projects during the few upcoming months to replace  Iran’s gas imports,” Balatay said.

Iraq  can import electricity from Turkey, Kuwait or other neighbouring  countries “but that needs an active and real government to be implemented, not a caretaker government,” he concluded.