Iraq faces energy crunch as US ends waiver for Iranian gas imports
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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Baghdad is hoping to avoid an electricity crisis when it is no longer able to import energy from Iran after a United States sanctions waiver expires. It is looking to other gas sources and boosting the production of renewable energy, the spokesperson for Iraq's ministry of electricity told Rudaw on Friday.
'The official telegram regarding the cancellation of the waivers and the halt of Iranian gas and electricity imports has not yet been received by the ministry,' said Ahmed Musa.
A 120-day sanctions waiver, issued by the former US President Joe Biden to allow Iraq to import Iranian gas, will expire on March 8, 2025. Biden's successor, Donald Trump, announced in early February that he would not renew the waiver as part of his "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran.
Iraq is largely dependent on its energy imports from Iran.
'We are working closely with the ministry of oil to compensate the affected plants with alternative fuel and ensure that there is no electricity crisis,' Musa said.
'Additionally, we are completing steam power plants that run on locally sourced fuel,' he said adding that 'Iraq's domestic gas production is not enough to meet demand' and they are in 'urgent need' to import gas 'until local production is fully developed.'
Musa said it will take three years for domestic gas sources to be able to fully support power stations, according to the Ministry of Oil. He added that Iraq is working to stop flaring associated gas, with 70% already utilized, while also rehabilitating national gas fields.
The spokesperson also said that Iraq is constructing a 1,000-megawatt solar project in Basra with France's TotalEnergies, has agreements with Saudi Arabia's ACWA Power for a 1,000-megawatt plant in Najaf, and is close to a deal with the UAE's Masdar for another 1,000 megawatts across four provinces.
Increasing electricity imports from Jordan and Turkey is another coping strategy that Iraq might utilize to compensate for the shortage in Iranian gas, according to Musa, who underscored that they are in the process of building transmission lines with the Gulf states.
Turkmenistan is another option.
'If imported gas is cut off, we will try to activate the agreement signed with Turkmenistan to import 20 million cubic meters of gas', Musa said, adding that the potential gas supplies from Turkmenistan might cover approximately half of the gas currently supplied by Iran.
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