Iran, Iraq Sign Oil, Gas MoU
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran and Iraq signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the oil and gas industries.
In a meeting attended by Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani, held in Baghdad on Wednesday, Iran’s Oil Minister Javad Owji and his Iraqi counterpart Hayan Abdel-Ghani signed the MoU to cooperate in the oil, gas, and petrochemical projects.
Owji and Sudani put emphasis on the expansion of bilateral cooperation in the energy sector, urging Iran-Iraq Joint Working Group to follow up the implementation of the recent memorandum through holding regular sessions.
The Iraqi prime minister brought forward proposals to develop joint fields, train human resources, and implement petrochemical projects, which were welcomed by the visiting Iranian oil minister, SHANA reported.
Iran’s oil minister also held talks with Iraqi Minister of Electricity Ziad Ali Fadel.
On April 29, Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi, who met his Iraqi counterpart Abdul Latif Rashid in Tehran, underlined the development of Tehran-Baghdad relations and promotion of their cooperation in infrastructure fields, including water, electricity, gas, and energy sectors.
Iran is a major supplier of natural gas to Iraq as the Arab country, which is the third largest crude oil exporter in the world, still struggles with rising demands for natural gas in its power plants.
Iranian authorities say Iraq has settled a part of the huge debts it owed to Iran for previous gas supplies.