Tehran and Baghdad signed an 6-year agreement on November 11, aimed at exporting 25 million cubic meters per day (mcm/d) of Iranian gas to Iraq's Basra. The contract can be extended after 6 years. During this period Iraq is committed to intake 40 billion cubic meters of Iranian gas to be supplied to Basra, Shaha reported.Iran and Iraq have already signed an agreement on delivering 25 mcm/d of Iranian gas to Iraq's capital, Baghdad. Then Iraq will import 50 mcm/d of Iranian gas in total.
| Sound like sneaky deals to get around sanctions. Southern Iraq has plenty of oil and natural gas; they're trying to export that. It's like shipping coals to Newcastle. |
In September, Azizollah Ramezani, the director for international affairs department for the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC), said that as per an annexation to the gas export deal, the volume of gas expected to be supplied to Baghdad City would increase to 35 mcm per day from 25 mcm.
The two sides have held talks about the Iranian side offering technical, financial, and executive training to Iraqi personnel.
In 2013, the two countries signed an agreement for the export of natural gas from Iran's South Pars gas field to Baghdad. The project has been long in the offing but had been delayed over security concerns in Iraq.