Iraq expects to be able to produce enough gas to meet its domestic needs and stop gas imports in 2027, an Iraqi deputy has said.

The Arab country, which controls massive untapped gas deposits, is heavily reliant on neighbouring Iran to cover gas supply shortages, with the value of such imports standing at around $5 billion a year, said Alaa Al-Haidari, a member of Parliament’s Oil and Gas Committee.

He told the official news agency INA that Baghdad could achieve that target following the award of nearly 30 oil sites to foreign firms last week.

“The contracts awarded to those firms cover most gas fields from North to South Iraq...we hope that Iraq will be able to achieve gas self-sufficiency and completely stop gas imports in 2027,” he said.

Iraq possesses nearly 3.5 trillion cubic metres of proven gas deposits but a large part of them has remained unexploited.

(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Bhaskar Raj)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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