On Saturday, an economic expert and academic named Nabil al-Marsoumi stated that importing Qatari gas for Iraq’s power stations is the most promising option, especially considering Iran’s outstanding debts for the same resource.
On his Facebook page, Al-Marsoumi emphasized that Iraq is looking for different ways to diversify its sources of liquefied gas to decrease reliance on Iranian gas. Due to financial difficulties, Iraq has been unable to pay its debts to Tehran, resulting in Iran reducing gas exports to Iraq by 40%. Iran has claimed that Iraq owes them a total of 11 billion dollars that remains unresolved.
He explained that Iranian gas is supplied through two routes. The first route is via the gas pipeline to the central region, which runs through the Khana oil field and Baghdad. The second route is through the southern gas pipeline, which runs from Basra to Abadan.
During the discussion, Al-Marsoumi emphasized the importance of carefully evaluating the technical and economic feasibility of alternative gas options, as the country has invested over $800 million in establishing pipelines for Iranian gas. Additionally, ensuring consistent and secure gas imports is a crucial factor to consider when making a decision.
During the discussion, Al-Marsoumi emphasized the importance of carefully evaluating the technical and economic feasibility of alternative gas options, as the country has invested over $800 million in establishing pipelines for Iranian gas. Additionally, ensuring consistent and secure gas imports is a crucial factor to consider when making a decision.
Al-Marsoumi suggested the idea of building a platform at Umm Qasr Port to receive Qatari gas. This would involve installing platforms and extending pipelines from the platform to Iraq’s gas network and ultimately to the power stations. We are currently evaluating the feasibility of this proposal.
He pointed out that the distance between Iraq’s Umm Qasr Port in Basra and Hamad International Port is approximately 650 km, and the estimated travel time for this journey is around 48 hours. Laying pipelines to transport gas from Qatar across the sea through Iraq to Turkey is a feasible option, with the potential for onward export to Europe. This is in line with the planned path of development.
In his post, Al-Marsoumi stated that due to the significant 1,559 km distance between Iraq and Turkmenistan, transporting gas from there would be the most expensive option. This would involve costs for building pipelines and importing gas.
