The US has granted Iraq a four-month extension to a sanctions waiver allowing it to import Iranian gas, an Iraqi official told AFP on Wednesday.

Iraq buys gas and electricity from neighbouring Iran to supply about a third of its power sector, which has been worn down by years of conflict and poor maintenance, and is unable to meet the needs of the country's 40 million population.

The US blacklisted Iran's energy industry in late 2018 as it ramped up sanctions, but granted Baghdad a series of temporary waivers, hoping that Iraq would wean itself off Iranian energy.

The last exemption period ended last month, and the new waiver took effect last week, the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

It runs until the start of December.

The extensions follow a visit to Washington by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi to meet US President Joe Biden.

Iraq, where legislative elections are scheduled for October 10, must balance its relations with both Washington and Tehran, the arch-rival of the US.

Iraq produces 16,000 megawatts of power, far below the 24,000 megawatts needed, and even further from the expected future needs of a country whose population is set to double by 2050, according to the UN.

The failure of Iraq's energy system is particularly acute in the baking hot summer months, often a time of social protest exacerbated by electricity shortages, when temperatures shoot past 45 degrees Centigrade (113 Fahrenheit).

In early July, several provinces suffered blackouts due to attacks on power lines.

At the same time, Iran suspended its gas and electricity exports for a few days because of Iraq's failure to pay a six-billion-dollar debt for energy received.

While the US sanction waiver allows Baghdad to purchase energy from Iran, it still blocks it from paying its bills in US dollars -- a currency which Tehran, suffocated by sanctions, badly needs.

Related Links
All About Oil and Gas News at OilGasDaily.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Stocks rebound, but oil drops on Chinese PMI data
London (AFP) Aug 2, 2021
Stock markets rebounded on Monday but investor optimism over the global recovery was kept in check by worries over the spread of coronavirus variants and China's regulatory crackdown. Oil prices fell meanwhile on weak manufacturing growth from China, the world's biggest importer of crude. Signs that US lawmakers were edging towards agreement on President Joe Biden's $1 trillion infrastructure bill have not provided much of a boost, while eyes were on the release of US jobs data at the end of the ... read more