Iran gas company says slashed flow to Iraq over $6 bln debt
28/12/2020 14:39
DUBAI, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Iran's state gas company said on
Monday it had slashed supplies to neighbouring Iraq over arrears
of more than $6 billion, after the Iraqi electricity ministry
said the cuts placed Baghdad and other cities at risk of serious
power shortages. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2J7074
"The Iraqi Ministry of Electricity owes more than $5 billion
in gas bills to the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC), of
which $3 billion remains blocked and inaccessible in ...TBI
(Trade Bank of Iraq), and more than $2 billion is overdue debt,"
NIGC said in a statement.
Iran has been unable to access billions of dollars in assets
in several countries due to U.S. sanctions.
"In addition, the Iraqi side owes more than $1 billion to
the National Iranian Gas Company for contractual offenses under
the agreement," said the NIGC statement, published by the
Iranian oil ministry's news agency SHANA.
The feared electricity shortages could place further
pressure on the government of Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.
Iran’s Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian is scheduled to visit
Baghdad on Tuesday to discuss the unpaid bills with his Iraqi
counterpart, an Iraqi official said on Sunday.
Washington has repeatedly extended by 90 or 120 days a
sanctions exemption to allow Baghdad to import Iranian energy,
but in November it granted only a 45-day extension.
(Reporting by Dubai newsroom; editing by Emelia
Sithole-Matarise)
((dubai.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com))