After cutting off the “Iranian electricity artery”, Iraq prepares and experts propose alternative solutions
After cutting off the “Iranian electricity artery”, Iraq prepares and experts propose alternative solutions
2025-03-10 10:06
Shafaq News/ In light of the crisis of canceling the US exemption to import Iranian gas, and the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity’s confirmation of working on alternative plans to mitigate the damage, by diversifying gas sources as well as energy, experts believe that the solution lies in the Iraqi government adopting a clear vision that ensures that the country is not exposed to any future energy crisis.
Last Saturday, March 8, 2025, the period of the exemption granted by the United States to Iraq from the sanctions imposed on Iran ended, and therefore the Baghdad government will not be able to import the Iranian gas needed to operate power stations throughout the country.
The US State Department confirmed on Sunday the end of exemptions that allowed Iraq to buy electricity from Iran, as part of the “maximum pressure” policy pursued by the administration of President Donald Trump against Tehran.
Washington also stressed its refusal to provide any economic relief to Iran, indicating that the goal is to end the Iranian nuclear threat, limit its missile program, and prevent its support for armed groups.
However, the spokesman for the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity, Ahmed Musa, told Shafaq News Agency, “The Ministry of Electricity has not received any official notification from the American side or from the American embassy regarding this issue so far.”
Alternative plans for Iran
Musa confirms, “However, the Ministry of Electricity has been working, for quite some time now, in accordance with government directives, to diversify gas sources, prepare national gas rights, and stop flaring associated gas.”
He added, “The ministry is also working on diversifying energy sources, as there are combined cycle projects, and increasing the energy transferred from the connection lines with Turkey and Jordan. The ministry is also trying to complete the Iraqi-Gulf connection before next summer, and is also working on solar power stations, activating the Central Bank’s initiative, and converting government buildings into solar energy systems.”
The spokesman for the Ministry of Electricity continued, “In addition to the high coordination with the Ministry of Oil to provide kerosene for the stations and their operation, and also importing 600 cubic meters of gas through what is installed from liquefied gas platforms in Iraqi ports.”
Regarding the possibility of all of the above in meeting the need for Iranian gas, he explains, “These alternative plans will meet part of the need and will mitigate the damage, but we do not hide the need for imported gas, due to the insufficiency of national gas.”
The spokesman for the Ministry of Electricity expressed his “hope to activate the Turkmenistan agreement by completing the procedures related to signing the company that plays the role of mediator to transfer Turkmen gas to Iraq.”
Gas import and debt repayment
Regarding the position of the Iraqi Parliament on the issue of importing Iranian gas and paying off debts, member of the Parliamentary Investment and Development Committee, Diaa Hindi Al-Hasnawi, says, “The issue of importing Iranian gas is sensitive and intertwined, especially with the end of the American exemption that allowed Iraq to import without restrictions.”
Al-Hasnawi confirmed to Shafaq News Agency, “The Ministry of Electricity is required today to be serious and effective in finding sustainable solutions, whether by facilitating payment procedures or diversifying energy sources, because continuing to rely on imports without alternative plans will keep Iraq in a cycle of recurring crises.”
As for the debts owed to Iran for the supplied gas, Al-Hasnawi believes that they “represent an additional obstacle, and may affect the flow of gas if an appropriate payment mechanism is not reached.”
He explained that “the solution lies in managing this file flexibly, through bilateral understandings or finding alternative payment mechanisms such as trade barter or deferred payment, in a way that ensures the continuity of energy supplies without affecting the Iraqi economy.”
The MP confirms that “the House of Representatives is closely following this file, and we call on the government to develop a clear vision that ensures that Iraq will not be exposed to any future energy crisis, with the need to accelerate local gas investment projects to gradually reduce dependence on imports.”
New arrangements for Iraq
For his part, economic expert Mustafa Faraj says, “The cancellation of the US exemption for importing Iranian gas poses a major challenge to Iraq in securing its energy needs, so the Iraqi government may resort to new arrangements such as deferred payment or trade exchange to compensate for the cost of importing.”
Faraj expects, in his statement to Shafaq News Agency, that “the most likely option is for Iraq to continue importing Iranian gas through new financial arrangements, such as deferred payment or commercial barter, especially since suddenly cutting off supplies could lead to a severe electricity crisis.”
However, the radical solution remains in accelerating the development of local gas fields and diversifying import sources to reduce dependence on Iran in the future, according to Faraj.
Recurring threats without solutions
This is what political researcher Saif Al-Saadi accuses the Iraqi government of “not finding another outlet to fill the gas shortage as an alternative to Iranian gas.”
Al-Saadi explained to Shafaq News Agency, “The United States of America threatened and waved sanctions on more than one occasion, so the Iraqi government was supposed to find an alternative and take into account the imposition of sanctions on Iran.”
Al-Saadi expects, “A problem will occur next summer and that the country will witness scorching temperatures no different from the severity of the sanctions that Trump is taking against Iran and political actors inside Iraq to help Tehran evade these sanctions.”
The deficit is about 70%.
But energy expert Govind Sherwani believes that “this crisis may be an incentive for the Iraqi government to accelerate investment in natural gas and achieve self-sufficiency in gas to avoid the need to import gas from other countries.”
In his statement to Shafaq News Agency, Sherwani stressed the “importance of obtaining urgent alternatives to gas from Gulf countries such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia, especially after the establishment of a floating gas platform in Basra, which needs pipelines to connect it to power stations within a maximum of 3 months, in addition to solar energy projects that take about a year and a half to build.”
“But the situation remains difficult in Iraq,” according to Sherwani, attributing this to “the current deficit resulting from the difference between generation and demand, which is approximately 26,000 megawatts, and the cessation of Iranian gas will add another 10,000 megawatts to this deficit, and thus the deficit will increase to approximately 70%.”
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