Iraqi-Iranian deal to barter gas for oil will help avoid US sanctions on Iran
The director of the Iraqi Prime Minister’s Office, Ihsan Yassin Al-Awadi, and the Iranian Ambassador to Iraq, Mohammad Kazem Al Sadeq, during a ceremony held to sign an agreement to barter oil for gas. Photo: AFP
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Iraqi Ministry of Oil confirmed on Tuesday that the agreement with Iran to barter Iranian gas for Iraqi crude oil will ensure a smooth flow of the supplied gas and help avoid the US sanctions imposed on Iran, according to the state news agency (INA).
According to the agreement, Iranian gas will be exchanged for Iraqi oil according to the pricing of global markets, as INA mentioned.
The spokesperson of the Ministry of Oil, Assem Jihad, told INA that the agreement with Iran represents one of the most important solutions to which the Iraqi government has resorted to pay dues for the supplied gas.
Jihad added that the Minister of Oil, Hayan Abdul-Ghani, held a meeting with Iraqi officials in the oil sector to accelerate the implementation of the directives of the Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani.
Al-Sudani announced on Tuesday that Iraq had reached an agreement with Iran regarding gas imports, which Iraq needs to operate power plants.
During a speech he delivered, Al-Sudani elaborated that Iraq agreed to provide Iran with crude oil in exchange for gas, INA reported.
During a meeting with Iraqi officials in the energy sector earlier on Tuesday, the Iraqi Prime Minister noted that the US sanctions and non-compliance with the gas dues payment mechanism agreed upon in 2018 caused a 50 percent reduction in gas supplies from Iran, which negatively affected electricity production in Iraq.
Al-Sudani also ordered the Ministry of Oil to work with international companies to develop energy fields and highlighted the need to speed up the completion of projects generating electricity from solar energy.