Iran resumes gas exports to Iraq after halt caused by South Pars strikes

BAGHDAD — Iranian gas supplies to Iraq resumed Saturday at a rate of 5 million cubic meters per day, the Electricity Ministry said, days after a complete halt in flows caused by strikes on Iran’s South Pars gas field knocked 3,100 megawatts offline from the national grid.

Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Mousa said power stations had remained operational during the outage by switching to national gas and diesel fuel as alternatives. With Iranian supplies resuming, he said the national grid had stabilized at 14,000 megawatts of production. “The electricity situation is reassuring, alternatives are available and we are proceeding with the regular plan,” Mousa said.

The resumed flows come at a reduced rate. Iran normally supplies between a third and 40 percent of Iraq’s electricity needs, and the 5 million cubic meters now flowing falls well short of pre-disruption levels, raising questions about grid stability ahead of the summer peak demand season. Mousa said the ministry’s plans were “on schedule to be ready before the summer season.”

The disruption followed Israeli strikes on South Pars, the world’s largest natural gas reserve, which caused fires and halted parts of production. Iraq’s Foreign Ministry warned earlier this week that attacks on regional energy facilities risk destabilizing global energy markets, a warning that carries particular weight for Baghdad given its near-total dependence on Iranian gas for power generation.