In an interview with Shana, the official responsible for pursuing gas export at NIGC, Asghar Sohilipour, said Iraqi oil ministry has permitted Iran’s gas transfer to Syrian and Mediterranean region through its territory. He added that the two countries would form a working group soon to study the route the pipeline is going to pass through.
Noting that a memorandum of understanding for daily gas export between 10 to 15 million cubic meters has been signed with Iraq, Sohilipour said Iraqi side is very interested to import gas from Iran.
He said on the other side, Iran and Syria have expressed their willingness on building a gas pipeline by passing via Iraqi territory to extend to the Mediterranean region and Europe.
Elsewhere in his remarks, the official said Ilam, west of Iran, is the point where Iran’s gas is going to pass to Iraq. He went on to say that technical, financial and legal working groups have been established for further negotiations and concluding a contract to this end.
Iran and Syria have signed a memorandum of understanding previously and the two sides will start their negotiations to transfer up to 2 to 3 billion cubic meters of gas from Iran to Syria. It is expected the two sides start negotiations on signing a gas deal in near future.
Last week Xinhua reported form Baghdad that Iraq will let Iran's natural gas pipeline to cross its territories to Syria and the Mediterranean regions.
"We are willing to let the Iranian gas pipeline to cross to Syria via the Iraqi territories," a statement quoted Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani as saying after a meeting Wednesday with an Iranian delegation in Baghdad.
“The two sides will form joint committee to study the route of the pipeline in Iraq," Shahristani said.
Iraq can use part of the Iranian gas to feed its electrical power plants until the country can depend on its own gas produced from the Iraqi gas fields.
Iraq has proven reserves of 112 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, but because of the poor infrastructure of the oil and gas industries, the country is only producing 1.5 billion cubic feet a day.