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Image used for illustrative purpose. A ship is docked at Al-Basra oil terminal, next to a Central Meeting and Manifold Platform belonging to Iraq's Southern Oil Company in the Middle East Gulf November 27, 2013. The Southern Oil Company is preparing a new Central Metering and Manifold Platform to increase oil export capacity. It will be operational in the first quarter of next year, according to Associate Director Mahmoud Abdul Amir.
Iraq has completed nearly 30 percent of a gas pipeline project in Basra to transport imported gas to power facilities in the Southern province.
Oil Minister Hayan Abdul Ghani checked progress of the project during a visit to the Khor Al-Zubair port, where work is underway on a dry gas pipeline crucial for power generation, the Oil Ministry said.
In a statement on Saturday, the Ministry said the pipeline, developed by the state-run Oil Projects Company (SCOP), extends 40 km from Khor Al-Zubair to Shatt al-Arab.
The initiative follows the expiry of a US sanctions waiver that allowed Iraq to import Iranian gas to run its power facilities.
Ali Shaddad, a spokesman for the parliamentary Oil and Gas Committee, told Shafaq news agency that Iraq’s dependence on gas-fired power plants, particularly outside Basra, has made the country’s energy sector vulnerable.
Unlike other regions, Basra’s power stations can operate on multiple fuels, including crude oil, ensuring greater grid stability.
Shaddad noted that Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Sudani is personally overseeing the gas pipeline project, which began about a month ago and is expected to be completed within 120 days.
“The construction has already surpassed 30 percent, with the pipeline set to transport up to 200 million standard cubic feet per day of Gulf gas,” he said.
(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)
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