The Government of Iraq is understood to be in talks about exporting surplus gas through the Arab gas pipeline to the Middle East and Europe, Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani has said.
“We are in talks to connect the Iraqi surplus to this pipeline to export it to Arab states and then to Europe," Mr al-Shahristani said, referring to a pipeline now linking Egypt to Syria which may later connect to Europe.
Iraq has the world's third-largest oil reserves and tenth-largest gas reserves, but it needs billions of dollars in investment to repair years of sanctions and war. Oil production stands below what it was before the US-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein in 2003, and the oil ministry is under increasing pressure to boost output and help overcome a budget crunch caused by a slump in oil prices.
The country exports a small amount of gas to Syria from its Akkas field in western Anbar province, but it hopes that situation will change once it signs major contracts being sought with the world's energy firms. The Government says that gas from Akkas could supply gas to Europe via Nabucco by 2014.
Basket is empty.
