Iran stated that natural gas exports to Iraq will start in September 2016. The Managing Director of the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC),Hamid-Reza Araqi, confirmed that Iran will initially ship 7mcm/d to supply a power plant in Baghdad and a second route to Basra will be opened in 2017, with shipments eventually reaching 70mcm/d, Bloomberg reported.

The two countries signed a basic agreement for the exportation of natural gas from Iran’s South Pars gas field to Iraq in 2013, Press Tv.

Based on the agreement, Iran planned to export 25mcm/d of gas to Sadr, Baghdad and al-Mansuriya power plants through a 270 km pipeline. The volume was planned to reach  35mcm/d during hot seasons. Yet, Iran’s gas shipments to Iraq have been delayed, for almost 12-months, due to unsafe conditions and political unrest.