SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Iraqi and Qatari ministers discussed the possibility of Qatar supplying gas to Iraq to address its power shortages, Iraq’s electricity ministry said on Monday.
Iraqi electricity minister Adil Karim met with Qatari energy minister Saad al-Kaabi during his visit to Doha, according to the electricity ministry.
The two ministers discussed logistical issues concerning the transport of the gas through Qatar’s ports to Iraq’s, it said in a statement.
“The Qatari side expressed its willingness after a detailed explanation provided by the ministry of electricity,” it added.
Iraq, OPEC’s second-largest producer after Saudi Arabia, depends on oil sales for more than 90% of its public budget and has been under pressure from the United States to reduce its reliance on gas imports from Iran.
The country flares much of its own gas, extracted alongside crude oil at its fields, because it lacks the facilities to process it into fuel and instead uses Iranian power imports to generate electricity.
