British report: Ankara is looking for Iraqi gas as an alternative to Iran, but there are obstacles

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[size=52]British report: Ankara is looking for Iraqi gas as an alternative to Iran, but there are obstacles[/size]

[size=45]A press report sheds light on the legal and logistical difficulties facing the transportation of Kurdistan gas to Turkey in conjunction with the crisis caused by Tehran cutting off gas from Ankara. According to the report published by the British Middle East Eye website, titled “Transferring Iraqi Kurdistan’s gas to Turkey..[/size]
[size=45]Easier said than done,” despite the legal challenges, the KRG is working on plans to transport Kurdistan gas to Turkey after it struck an agreement with Kar Group to build a new gas pipeline from Sulaymaniyah first to Erbil, and then to Dohuk, over the next 16 months for local electricity production. The report added that "Iran cut gas supplies to Turkey for reasons that were not convincing, which made Ankara intensify the search for an alternative, and seek to import natural gas from the Kurdistan region of Iraq, but it is a task that is not easy from a practical and legal point of view."[/size]
[size=45]The report pointed out that Iran cut gas supplies to Turkey last month, blaming it for a technical error in the pipeline, and Ankara found itself facing a dilemma: Either to prevent gas supplies from residential areas at a time when the harsh winter weather was hitting the country , or stop supplies to industrial areas.[/size]
[size=45]In the end, the Turkish government reduced the flow of gas to industrial areas by 40%, effectively stopping some companies' production for 72 hours. After protest and intense diplomatic pressure, Iran resumed supplies before the tenth day of the deadline pledged by Tehran.[/size]
[size=45]The report adds, “It is true that natural gas supplies have returned to normal, but questions remain about Iran’s reliability. Many insiders in Ankara do not believe Iran’s fault excuses, and believe that Tehran preferred to use gas for its own internal consumption.”[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out that this was the reason behind the meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Nechirvan Barzani, earlier this month, February. Erdogan asked his Kurdish counterpart to help import gas from the largely untapped reserves in Iraqi Kurdistan, estimated at 25 trillion cubic feet. According to the report, the idea faces many legal and technical obstacles, after the Federal Supreme Court of Iraq this week annulled a 2007 oil and gas law that gave the Kurdistan Regional Government the authority to independently manage the sector's energy resources, including issuing licenses and exporting. The verdict also declared that all of Kurdistan's current contracts were void.[/size]
[size=45]Even before the court's decision, two senior Turkish officials told Middle East Eye that Ankara had intended to discuss the issue with Baghdad first. “We know that this is something we have to talk about with the Iraqi government and get their approval, so the final court ruling is not important, but the implementation will not be easy either,” one said.[/size]
[size=45]Gas transfer plans to Turkey continue[/size]
[size=45]The report indicated that despite the legal challenges, the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq is working on plans to transfer Kurdistan gas to Turkey. The Erbil-based government last week struck a deal with Kar Group to build a new gas pipeline from Sulaymaniyah first to Erbil, and then to Dohuk, over the next 16 months for local electricity production.[/size]
[size=45]The pipeline will also bring infrastructure to within 35 km of the Turkish border, opening the door to future export plans.[/size]
[size=45]Kurdish gas is a great opportunity to meet Turkey's growing energy needs, said Gökhan Yardim, former general manager of the Turkish state-owned Botas, which is involved in pipelines and trade in oil and natural gas.[/size]
[size=45]He told MEE: Botas has already established a gas pipeline to the Iraqi border, the Turkish infrastructure is ready. And the other end of the border is smooth, it will not take much time to build a pipeline.”[/size]
[size=45]Iraqi Kurdistan currently uses about 440 million cubic feet of gas per day to generate electricity from the Khormor and Chemchemal fields. UAE company Dana Gas said last year that it planned to increase production by 60% and reach 630 million cubic feet per day by 2023. “Current production is not enough for Turkey,” Ali Aref Akturk, a veteran energy consultant, told Al-Monitor. There is a need to work in other gas fields such as Miran and Bina Bawi, which contain acid gas, which in turn contains a high level of hydrogen sulfide, which is toxic.” Iraqi Kurdistan officials believe that at least $4-5 billion is needed to start production at these fields and to desalinate the gas.[/size]
[size=45]Genel Energy, a British-Turkish energy company, has already spent nearly $1.4 billion on the Miran and Binnawi gas fields. The contracts were terminated by the Kurdistan Regional Government last year, prompting the company to file a lawsuit against the decision.[/size]
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