Iraq pays full dues for Iranian gas and awaits increased supplies

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[size=52]Iraq pays full dues for Iranian gas and awaits increased supplies[/size]

[size=45]Baghdad/ Firas Adnan[/size]
[size=45]The Ministry of Electricity announced the payment of the full dues and debts of Iranian gas after an internal loan it obtained from the Trade Bank of Iraq, stressing that the supply rates will rise in the coming hours to reach 55 million cubic meters per day, and talked about completing all preparations in order to equip citizens with what is better than previous summer seasons, but called on the provinces not to exceed their quotas.[/size]
[size=45]The ministry's spokesman, Ahmed Moussa, said that "Iraq has paid the Iranian gas dues in full, according to the ministry's efforts and the great government interest in the electricity sector."[/size]
[size=45]Moussa added, "The amount has been provided through internal borrowing from the Trade Bank of Iraq, and these dues that have been paid are for the year 2020, amounting to more than 1.6 billion dollars."[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out that "the gas problem is one of the interim problems of previous governments and it has been addressed," noting that "meetings and negotiations are continuing with the Iranian side to increase gas emissions."[/size]
[size=45]Moussa explained, "The Iranians stipulated, during the last meeting with them in Tehran, that the previous debts be paid in return for providing the Iraqi system with the required gas."[/size]
[size=45]And he indicated, "The previous debts occurred as a result of the failure to pass the budget law for the fiscal year 2020, while the government paid all the dues for the year 2021 in full, and today we pay monthly bills for the dues of the current year."[/size]
[size=45]And Moussa added, "Gas prices rose as a result of the rise in global oil prices after the war between Russia and Ukraine, and what is paid by the Ministry of Electricity on the basis of the previous budget is not enough to pay the dues of the Iranian side."[/size]
[size=45]He continues, "Our negotiations with the Iranian side, which was understanding of our position, ended up buying it for less than what is in the global market, but we still need funds and the necessity came to support the amounts through the Emergency Support Law for Food Security and Development."[/size]
[size=45]Moussa stressed, "Iraq needs 50 to 55 million cubic meters daily, and that Iranian gas emissions have witnessed a rise during the past hours, and are currently around 40 million cubic meters, and we are proceeding to increase them to the agreed upon quantities during the next two days."[/size]
[size=45]A spokesman for the Ministry of Electricity stated, "This increase was reflected positively through the operation of new energies and the introduction of units that were ready, but they need fuel to work."[/size]
[size=45]Moussa added, “What happened last weekend in the Basra and Maysan governorates, which was completely extinguished, is a technical symptom; due to increased loads and demand.[/size]
[size=45]He cautioned, that "the governorates have quotas that are divided by the Supreme Coordinating Committee of the governorates, and there are some abuses of the quantities prescribed for those governorates, which exposes the lines to separation."[/size]
[size=45]Moussa continues, "This issue led to the separation of some lines in Basra and Maysan, which exposed the two governorates to a complete shutdown for about two hours, but the owners practiced their work in control centers, company headquarters and maintenance sectors."[/size]
[size=45]And he added, "These owners were able to return to work, and return all the stations that were disconnected from service, and the situation is currently going as it was in the past."[/size]
[size=45]Moussa pointed out, "The Ministry of Electricity had prepared early and well to keep pace with the summer plan by increasing processing hours, and we were in great need of operating gas."[/size]
[size=45]He noted that "the preparations included setting up stations, strengthening lines and feeders, increasing work efficiency and other measures that would double operation and give reliability and continuity."[/size]
[size=45]And Moussa indicated, "The Ministry of Electricity has informed everyone from an early age, whether the Council of Ministers, the House of Representatives, or even public opinion, through our media channels, the need for Iranian gas."[/size]
[size=45]He stressed that "the gas supplied from the Iranian side occupies quantities ranging from 7,000 to 8,000 megawatts, i.e. up to a third of the national electric power."[/size]
[size=45]Moussa added, "The current data, after the availability of funds and gas, shows that this summer will be better than it was in previous years."[/size]
[size=45]For his part, a member of the Parliamentary Energy Committee, inside Radi, said, "The ministry informed us that it had completed preparations early for the summer, and it had no choice but to supply it with Iranian gas to operate the stations."[/size]
[size=45]And Radi, a representative of the State of Law coalition, said that "the House of Representatives provided the ministry's financial allocations through the legislation of the Emergency Support Law for Food Security and Development."[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out that "the file of electric power depends on a number of issues, most notably the political dispute, the formation of the government, and the allocation of appropriate funds, whether in the food security law or budgets for the coming years."[/size]
[size=45]Radi concluded, "The ministry has concluded a number of contracts related to clean energy and moving away from the traditional means of operating electrical stations, through which we are waiting for an improvement in their situation and an increase in processing rates."[/size]
[size=45]It is noteworthy that the hours of supplying electricity have witnessed a significant decline during the past two weeks due to the Iranian side reducing gas supplies to 30 million cubic meters per day due to the delay in repaying the previous debts.[/size]
[size=45]The electric power file represents one of the most prominent service problems that Iraqis have been suffering from since 2003, despite successive governments spending more than 41 billion dollars on the sector in the past 18 years, while the country is witnessing long power outages during the summer, as the rate of energy supply in some zones to one hour per day.[/size]
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