OPEC producer Iraq is pushing ahead with plans to build an offshore platform to receive liquefied natural gas (LNG) after the loss of most gas supplies from Iran, an official has said.
Hamza Abdel Baqi, Director of the South Gas Company said Iraq would soon award a contract for the construction of the platform and pipelines that link the facility with onshore pipelines to supply southern power facilities with gas.
“Iraq is now working to build an LNG import platform and a network of pipelines to link it with onshore facilities which feed power stations,” he told the official Iraqi News Agency.
Baqi did not disclose sources of possible new LNG supplies but Iraq considered importing Qatari LNG in 2022 to face a rapid increase in domestic demand.
In 2024, OPEC’s second largest oil producer signed a memorandum of understanding with Turkmenistan for the supply of nearly 20 million cubic meters of gas per day but energy analysts believe the contract may never materialize due to high risks as the gas will be transported via Iran’s pipelines, which is under heavy Western sanctions.
Iraq controls nearly 3.5 trillion cubic meters of natural gas reserves but they have remained largely untapped due to wars in the past years.
(Iraqi News Agency)
