Iran resumes gas supplies to Iraq after shutdown

Gas flows to Iraq from Iran have restarted after Tehran cut off the supply to undertake pipeline maintenance work, which led to widespread blackouts.

Iranian gas supplies resumed on Sunday at a rate of five million cubic meters per day, the state-run Iraq News Agency reported, citing the ministry of electricity spokesman Ahmed Moussa.

The Besmaya and Mansouriya power plants, which were affected by the gas shortage, have resumed operations, he said.

Iraq is facing an energy crisis after the US imposed new restrictions on importing Iranian gas in March, Shafaq News reported. The country imports up to 50 million cubic metres of Iranian gas per day, it said.

Meanwhile, Moussa said the repair and reactivation of the Khor Mor gas field have contributed to supplying the national electricity grid with 300 megawatts of power, currently purchased from plants in the Kurdistan region.

Coordination is ongoing with the Kurdistan region’s electricity authority to reinstate the previous power purchase agreements, he said, without giving more details.

Further reading:

• Iraq in talks with Iran to pay its $12bn overdue gas bill
• Iraq approves gas plants in bid to replace Iran imports
• Iraq turns to Turkmenistan to plug Iranian gas gap