Iraq prepares for worst-case scenarios after Iranian gas cut

Shafaq News/ Iraq has developed contingency plans to address potential energy shortages following the halt of Iranian gas supplies, including sourcing imports from Qatar, Oman, and Turkmenistan, a senior electricity ministry official said on Thursday.

"Previously, we only had imports from Iran, but there are government directives and a political will to rely on multiple sources of imports," said Saad Jassem, director general of the ministry’s fuel department, told AFP.

"We must consider the worst-case scenario -- if there is an interruption, we have prepared alternatives," said Jassem, revealing that Qatar, as the region’s largest producer of natural gas, had expressed willingness to supply Iraq with gas at preferential prices following multiple visits by Iraqi officials.

"Oman is also an option," he added.

He noted that negotiations are ongoing to purchase gas from Turkmenistan, which would be delivered via pipelines through Iran.

Iraq is also constructing two floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals in the southern port of Khor al-Zubair, with plans to have them operational by June, Jassim said.

These facilities, according to him, will have the capacity to process between 14 and 19 million cubic meters (500-700 million cubic feet) of gas per day,

"If we manage to set up a third unit we could hit 800 to 900 million cubic feet," he added.

In 2024, Iraq and Iran renewed their gas import agreement for five years, allowing for the purchase of up to 50 million cubic meters per day.