ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Iraqi electricity ministry is seeking to purchase gas from Sulaimani’s Khor Mor gas field to cover its needs and avoid power shortages in the coming summer season, the ministry’s spokesperson told Rudaw on Wednesday.
“The Iraqi government is headed towards buying gas from Khor Mor, considering it is good quality and covers the needs of the power stations in the north area,” Ahmed Mousa, a spokesperson for the electricity ministry told Rudaw’s Nahro Mohammed.
The main objective of purchasing the gas is to satisfy the needs of the Kurdistan Region power stations during the summer.
Khor Mor is a critical gas field in Sulaimani province’s Chamchamal district. The field produces 452 million standard cubic feet of gas per day.
Ahmed al-Abadi, spokesperson for the Iraqi electricity ministry, said on Wednesday that the ministry is currently producing around 19,000 to 20,000 megawatts per day, and expects to reach 27,000 megawatts by May 1, adding that they plan to add 5,000 megawatts to the national power grid by the end of the year.
Iraq’s electrical grid has for years been dependent on gas imports from Iran to run its power generation plants, with Baghdad remaining overly reliant on Tehran despite Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani’s ambitions to develop the country’s gas sector and achieve self-sufficiency within the next five years.
