Iran has repeatedly decreased the amount of natural gas it supplies to Iraq over the past few years, at times choosing to cut the exports entirely, citing Baghdad’s nonpayment of the debts it owed to Tehran for gas imports.
The latest cut in supplied Iranian gas comes despite the fact that officials from both sides announced in late June that Baghdad had paid off all its gas-related arrears to Tehran.
Iraq’s electricity ministry said that despite the “tangible improvement” the country’s power grid had made in providing electricity in recent times, the decrease in supplied imported gas had led to the loss of nearly five thousand megawatts of production capacity.
Gas imports to the southern region of the country has completely stopped and the supply of the natural resource to Baghdad and central Iraq has decreased from 45 million cubic meters to 20 million cubic meters, the statement noted, adding that several power plants have halted their operations as a result.
Iraq’s electrical grid has for years been dependent on gas imports from Iran to run its power generation plants. Iranian state media on Tuesday said that Iran had exported 9.4 billion cubic meters of gas to Iraq in 2022, citing a report from the UK-based Energy Institute.
Despite its large oil and gas reserves, Iraq suffers from chronic electricity shortages, especially felt when summer temperatures reach over 50 degrees Celsius.
Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani has repeatedly described improving the country’s energy sector as one of the main priorities of his cabinet, stating on multiple occasions that Baghdad seeks to achieve self-sufficiency in gas and end the import of the natural resource within the next five years.
