Iraq accelerates Gulf gas imports as US ends Iran energy waivers
Shafaq News/ Iraq is shifting to Gulf gas imports to replaceIranian supplies after the expiration of US sanctions waivers, while alsofast-tracking a major gas pipeline project in Basra, Parliament's Oil ane GasCommittee said Sunday.
On March 8, 2025, the US waiver allowing Iraq to buy Iraniangas expired, blocking Baghdad from continuing its reliance on Tehran for powergeneration.
Commitee spokesperson Ali Shaddad told Shafaq News thatIraq’s electricity sector faces challenges because many power plants dependsolely on gas. However, Basra’s plants operate on gas, crude oil, and heavyfuel, ensuring greater grid stability.
Shaddad revealed that Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudaniis personally overseeing the rapid completion of a gas pipeline from Basra’sfloating platform, a project launched 30 days ago by the Oil Ministry.
"The pipeline is progressing at an accelerated pace andis expected to be completed within 120 days," he said, noting that 30% ofthe work is already done.
Once operational, the pipeline will transport up to 200million standard cubic feet per day (mmscf/d) of Gulf gas to Iraq’s power grid.
On Sunday, the US State Department formally ended Iraq’sspecial exemptions that had allowed Baghdad to purchase Iranian electricity.
For years, Iraq has relied on Iranian gas and electricityimports, especially during peak summer demand, benefiting from periodic USwaivers issued multiple times a year.
In October 2024, Iraq signed a deal with Turkmenistan toimport 20 million cubic meters of gas per day via Iranian pipelines using aswap mechanism. However, implementation has stalled due to technical issues,according to Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity.
