Iraq announces complete halt of Iranian gas supplies

The Iraqi Ministry of Electricity announced today the full suspension of Iranian gas supplies, confirming that alternative measures have been implemented to ensure the continuity of electricity production until the supplies are resumed.

Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Mousa stated that "the gas stoppage caused a loss of about 4,000 to 4,500 megawatts of production capacity due to the shutdown of some units and the load restrictions on others, which affected electricity supply hours."

He explained that "the Iranian side informed the ministry of the suspension of gas pumping due to emergency reasons," noting that "the ministry resorted to using alternative local fuel in coordination with the Ministry of Oil to operate the power plants," according to the Iraqi News Agency.

The spokesperson confirmed that "production is still under control, and most plants are operating despite the gas shortage," emphasizing that "electricity supply systems were prepared to face the peak winter loads through ongoing maintenance, rehabilitation, and expansion operations, while coordination with the Ministry of Oil continues to meet local needs until Iranian gas returns."

Iraqi Ministry of Electricity official Saad Jasim stated that "previously, we relied solely on imports from Iran, but there are now government directives and political will to rely on multiple import sources."

Iranian gas and electricity supplies represent one-third of Iraq’s energy needs.

ANHA