The mystery of Iraq’s gas debt to Iran/ the uncertainty of 11 billion dollars of national wealth

According to the exclusive report of Energy Press, according to the contract between the two countries, Iran was obliged to export 50 million cubic meters of gas to Iraq per day. But due to Iraq’s heavy debt, Iran had to reduce its gas exports in retaliation.
The exact amount of this debt is not yet known, and the authorities have announced that Iraq’s gas debt to Iran is between 9 and 11 billion dollars since last year.
The figure of this debt is stated by the authorities to be between 9 and 11 billion dollars, and the contradiction in its amount creates more uncertainties. In fact, the figures mentioned this year are almost the same as the figures mentioned last year.
The inconsistency in the announced figures for Iraq’s gas debt and the officials’ avoidance of stating the new figure and the way to pay the debt have made this case even more complicated.
Blocking of Iranian money in Iraq
The Iraqi authorities have repeatedly said that they have deposited the amount of gas debt to the official account of Iran’s National Gas Company in the Commercial Bank of Iraq, but due to external obstacles such as sanctions and FATF, the money is blocked in the account and Iran cannot withdraw it. Referring to these sanctions, Iraq refuses to pay its debt to Iran directly.

Exchange of goods instead of money
Iran’s demand for gas from Iraq has been affected by the complications of sanctions. In order to solve this problem, agreements have been made regarding the clearing of basic goods such as oil and fuel oil, but there are many uncertainties surrounding the implementation of these agreements and it is not yet clear whether Iran has been able to fully achieve its demands or not.
Experts’ solution for collecting demand from Iraq
Some experts have suggested that Iran can be more successful in collecting its demands from Iraq by changing its procedure from government contracts to contracts with the private sector.
Based on this proposal, the 14th government can accept the proposal of the Iraqi private sector and hand over the gas sales contract to a local company to solve the problems related to American licenses, sanctions, exemptions and banking issues.
But on the other hand, some experts point to Iran’s past bitter experiences in energy contracts with private companies, such as oil sales to China, and warn against its repetition.
They believe that even in this situation, there is no guarantee for the full return of the money, and the main root of this problem is sanctions and Iran’s non-membership in FATF.
Now it remains to be seen what solution the Pezashkian’s government will take to collect the demand for gas from Iraq.