Iran to supply gas to 2 Iraqi power plants

Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qassemi said Sunday Iran and Iraq are slated to sign an agreement in Baghdad, under which Iran will supply natural gas to Iraq\'s Al-Baghdad and Al-Mansouriyah power plants. The Iranian minister underlined that Tehran would start pumping seven million cubic meters of daily gas to Iraq by the next two months. On Saturday, Managing Director of the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) Javad Oji told FNA that “the two countries’ oil ministers will sign a contract on export of Iran’s gas to Iraq tomorrow”. Oji, who is also Iran\'s deputy oil minister, noted that Iran would be exporting 45 million cubic meters a day (mcm/d) of natural gas to its western neighbor. “The country will gain revenues of $10mln per day and $3.7bln per year by exporting gas to Iraq,” Oji added. Earlier this year, Qassemi announced that the country will gain more than $5bln from gas exports to neighboring Iraq. \"By exporting the gas extracted from two phases of the South Pars (gas) field to Iraq, which will begin within the next two months, around $5bln will be added to the country\'s foreign exchange earnings,\" Qassemi said, addressing a conference in Tehran. The Iranian oil minister noted the US-led western sanctions against Iran have strengthened the Iranian contractors so that they are now able to implement mega energy projects. Meantime, he said that Iran attracted more than $24bln investment in the oil industry\'s upstream sector last Iranian year (ended March 20). Late in January, Iranian Oil Ministry Spokesman Alireza Nikzad Rahbar said the country would start exporting natural gas to Iraq by next summer. Nikzad Rahbar added that the Friendship Pipeline project under construction between Iran, Iraq and Syria, is the most important project currently pursued by the ministry. The pipeline will be designed in such a way that it will be able to deliver gas to other Muslim countries like Jordan and Lebanon in the future. The 56-inch pipeline will start from Assaluyeh, near the massive offshore South Pars Gas Field in southern Iran, and will continue into Iraq to feed three Iraqi power plants running on gas. Iran, which sits on the world\'s second largest natural gas reserves after Russia, is making efforts to raise its gas production by increasing foreign and domestic investments, especially in South Pars gas field.