TEHRAN - Iranian Oil Minister Javad Oji said Iran has received about €1.6 billion of Iraq’s arrears, related to its gas imports from the Islamic Republic, in the current Iranian calendar year (began on March 21), Shana reported.

Speaking among reporters on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Oji stated that his ministry had also received about €1 billion of Iraq’s debt to Iran for gas import last year.

The oil ministry in the 13th government under President Raisi has so far used all its potential and capabilities in materializing the objectives of the country’s oil industry, he emphasized.

The ministry has also taken giant strides with strong energy diplomacy and managed to conclude oil sales contracts with many countries including the Latin American states, the minister noted.

Oji stressed that Iran’s gas export to Iraq has increased by 1.5 billion cubic meters in the current year as compared to the previous year.

Iraq relies heavily on Iranian gas to operate electric power plants; the country supplies more than a third of its energy needs through imports of electricity and gas from the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Earlier this year, Iraqi Electricity Minister Adel Karim announced that Iraq needs Iranian gas for the next 5-10 years while confirming the ministry’s agreement with the Iranian side to supply the country with 50 million cubic meters of gas per day.

In December 2020, Iran reduced its gas exports to the neighboring country by over 45 million cubic meters a day to five million cubic meters per day to push Iraq for settling its arrears to the Islamic Republic.

Back in March, a high-ranking Iraqi delegation comprised of three ministries of electricity, finance, and oil along with the director-general of the Trade Bank of Iraq (TBI) visited Tehran to discuss settling the country’s gas dues and resuming the imports of natural gas from Iran.

EF/MA