Iran talks gas transit with Iraq

UPI: A working group from Iran has left for neighboring Iraq to discuss a possible natural gas transit deal, Iran’s deputy oil minister said.

United Press International

TEHRAN, July 30 (UPI) — A working group from Iran has left for neighboring Iraq to discuss a possible natural gas transit deal, Iran’s deputy oil minister said.

Iranian Deputy Oil Minister Javad Oji said his country could export natural gas to Iraq in two phases. The first phase could deliver around 265 million cubic feet of natural gas per year to Iraq, and the second phase could reach 420 million cubic feet per year.

Both sides discussed the possibility of shipping Iranian gas to Europe through gas transit networks in Syria, he added.

Delegates at the talks in Iraq were expected to reach “a general agreement” on gas transits during the two-day talks, the semiofficial Mehr News Agency quoted him as saying.

Tehran is searching for natural gas partnerships as pressure from U.S. and European sanctions on Iran increases.

Iran is pushing ahead with plans to build a natural gas pipeline to Pakistan. The country, which holds some of the largest natural gas deposits in the world, has also petitioned for a role in the Nabucco pipeline to Europe. Western supporters of the project ruled out that possibility, however.