Changing Iraq’s policy in dependence on Iranian gas

According to Energy Press, on Saturday of this week, Iraq’s oil minister announced the issuance of licenses for 29 oil and gas projects in the country. If these projects are fully implemented, Iraq’s oil production will reach one million barrels and the country’s gas production It will also increase by 98 million cubic meters. This increase in oil and gas production is considered to be four times Iraq’s gas import from Iran, and with this calculation, Iraq will largely come out from under the umbrella of Iran’s gas dependence.

According to Iraqi sources, this country supplies a third of its gas needs from Iran and is trying to get rid of dependence on Iran’s electricity and gas. According to Ekhet, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani announced on Saturday, May 22, at the ceremony of announcing the license for the exploitation of 29 oil and gas projects, that torch burning in Iraq will be stopped in the next 3 to 5 years. Meanwhile, this country burns and wastes gas extracted from oil fields in burners twice as much as it imports gas from Iran.

Hayan Abdul Ghani, Iraq’s oil minister, announced that the country plans to increase its extractable oil reserves to 160 billion barrels. If this project becomes operational, Iraq’s extractable oil reserves will exceed Iran’s.

Iraq’s new moves to increase the meaningful distance with Iran

During the past months, Iraq has taken meaningful and important measures to distance itself from Iran and tensions in the Middle East. During the military operation of the IRGC against the positions of terrorists affiliated with Israel in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq in January of last year, the government of this country also showed a strong reaction to this attack and considered such action as a serious violation of its national sovereignty.

In the course of some joint cooperation projects with Iran in the infrastructure sector, such as the Basra – Shalamcheh project, the physical progress of the work on the rail connection between the two countries has not progressed as it should, and we are witnessing a kind of implicit withdrawal from Baghdad. In addition to some existing differences related to the recent months between the policies of the government of Iraq and Iran, one of the main reasons for such oppositions is the imposition of sanctions imposed by the United States against some Iraqi banks and financial institutions, which during the past months, It has led to the relative withdrawal of Iraqis from continuous cooperation with the Iranian side.

Approaching Turkey and bypassing Iran’s transit routes

Although Iraqis are not used to public opposition and expressing verbal displeasure in the face of Tehran, it seems that their approach in practice is completely different. One of Iraq’s important and dangerous measures against Iran’s transit routes is the signing of a cooperation agreement between this country with Turkey, Qatar and the UAE to launch a new north-south corridor known as “Development Road”.

The new North-South Corridor passing through the two countries of Iraq and Turkey started from India with the passage of goods to Faw port in Iraq, the transit cargo will be sent through this country to Turkey and from there to Eastern Europe. The Turkish government also hopes to be able to use this route as a new branch for China’s Belt and Road and to transfer the cargo of this country to Europe.

One of the most important advantages of this corridor is the equipping of the Iraqi port of Faw with up-to-date and modern equipment that is being installed and operated by the Korean company “Doo” and this makes it possible to carry the container goods on the deck without the need for transshipment. transferred the ship to the rail lines and road lines available in Faw port; An issue that will reduce the speed and cost of cargo transportation to a very significant extent.