Iraq’s electricity minister Adel Karim and Qatar’s energy minister Saad al-Kaabi discussed on Monday the possibility of Qatar supplying gas to Iraq to address its power shortages, Iraqi News Agency said.

Logistical issues concerning the transport of the gas through Qatar’s ports to Iraq’s were discussed during Karim’s brief visit to Doha, the statement added.

Iraq, OPEC’s second-largest producer after Saudi Arabia, depends on oil sales for more than 90% of its public budget and has been under pressure from the United States to reduce its reliance on gas imports from Iran.

The country flares much of its own gas, extracted alongside crude oil at its fields, because it lacks the facilities to process it into fuel and instead uses Iranian power imports to generate electricity.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Lina Najem, Editing by Louise Heavens)