Iraq to import natural gas from Turkmenistan

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s electricity ministry announced on Saturday that it signed an agreement with Turkmenistan to import natural gas to boost the national electricity grid.

“Today, we signed an important agreement with Turkmenistan to supply 20 million cubic meters of gas daily, which will contribute to the full operation of our [power] stations, ensuring the national grid,” Electricity Minister Ziad Ali Fadhil announced in a post on Facebook.

“The Turkmen gas will be transferred to Iraq through Iranian pipelines, based on a swap mechanism and in collaboration with the Swiss company Loxstone Energy,” he added.

The agreement was signed during an official visit by Turkmenistan's Minister of State for Gas Affairs Maqsad Babayev to Baghdad where he met with Fadhil.

Iraq has a shortage of power as it is currently generating about 25 percent less electricity due to a decrease in gas imports from Iran and renovations of power stations in preparation for winter.

Earlier this month, Ahmed Musa, spokesperson for Iraq’s electricity ministry, told Rudaw that Iran’s decision to decrease its gas daily exports to Iraq has taken 2,200 megawatts of electricity out of the grid. 

The electricity ministry announced on Saturday that Turkmen gas will be pumped to Iraq next week.

Iraq’s power sector has depended on gas imports from Iran for years. In July last year, the country lost nearly 5,000 megawatts of power when Iran halted exports to the southern regions and decreased them to Baghdad and central Iraq.

Iraq has large oil and gas reserves but does not have the infrastructure to capture the gas. It is among the top gas-flaring countries globally, according to data from the World Bank, which also noted the country’s increase in flaring intensity.

Flaring is when oil wells burn the excess gas that cannot be stored or used. It is a convenient way to deal with associated petroleum gas, however, it damages the environment, hurts public health, and contributes to global warming.

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani has repeatedly said improving the energy sector is a priority of his cabinet and that Baghdad seeks to achieve self-sufficiency in its gas supply and end imports within the next five years.

In July 2023, Baghdad and TotalEnergies signed a $27 billion contract to develop Iraq’s oil, gas, and renewable energies sectors - a major step towards gas self-sufficiency.