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Iraq is likely to face an electricity crisis this summer after Iran lost nearly one-third of its natural gas production capacity due to damage during the US-Israeli war that started on February 28, according to a news report.
Several facilities and production phases at Iran’s South Pars gas field were damaged during the conflict, causing a sharp drop in output, Shafaq News Agency reported, quoting Gholam Reza Dehghan Naserabadi, a member of the Iranian Parliament’s Energy Committee.
Iraq imported between one-third and 40 percent of Iranian gas to fuel its power stations, particularly during the peak summer season.
In March, Iraq’s Electricity Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Mousa Al-Abadi said interruptions in Iranian gas deliveries had cut more than 3,000 megawatts (MW) from the national power grid.
Baghdad has stepped up efforts to expand domestic associated-gas production and reduce reliance on foreign supplies.
Caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Sudani said last year that gas projects awarded to foreign companies would help Iraq become self-sufficient in 2028.
(Writing by P Deol; Editing by Anoop Menon)
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