The National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) CEO has said that Iran and Iraq have begun negotiating to extend a gas supply deal under which Iran pumps gas to Iraq.
Speaking during a televised interview, Majid Chegeni talked about the performance of his company in the field of gas exports, stating that since the new Iranian government under President Ebrahim Raisi took power in August 2021, it has been very active in the field of energy diplomacy, especially in the field of gas.
Iraqi Ministry of Electricity spokesman Ahmad Musa said early in August that current demand for natural gas in the Iraqi power sector is 55-60 million cubic meters (mcm) per day of which some 43 mcm is supplied from Iran.
Musa said, however, that Iraq has been asking Iran for increased natural gas supplies so that it could respond to a growring demand for cooling this summer.
He told Iraq’s INA news agency that increased gas supply from Iran will also be necessary to guarantee that Iraq’s new power plant projects could come on line on time.
That comes as Iran has increased its gas exports to Iraq by more than five times since mid-June when Baghdad settled debts related to its previous energy imports.