Iraq in talks to import gas from Qatar

Loose cables on a private generator in Baghdad. Iraq suffers from chronic electricity shortages. (Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP)
Loose cables on a private generator in Baghdad. Iraq suffers from chronic electricity shortages. (Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraq's acting electricity minister, Adel Karim, and Qatari energy minister Saad Sherida al-Kaabi held talks on Monday on importing gas from the Gulf state to help Iraq's chronic power shortage.

The Iraqi minister was on a brief visit to Qatar and has discussed the required logistics to facilitate the transport of gas through Qatari ports to Iraq, according to a statement from Karim's office.

Iraq, OPEC's second-largest oil producer after Saudi Arabia, relies on oil sales for more than 90 percent of its budget and is under pressure from the United States to reduce its dependence on gas imports from Iran.

Iraq flares most of its natural gas, extracted alongside oil from its fields because it lacks the facilities to convert it into fuel.

Power outages, particularly during the Summer season, have been one of the main issues in Iraq that usually sparks mass protests in the Iraqi provinces over the lack of electricity.