Iraq says it signs deal with Iran to import natural gas for power generation
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
An Iraqi government spokesman says Baghdad has signed a deal with Iran to import natural gas for power generation, further intertwining the economies of the two Shiite-dominated countries.
Electricity Ministry spokesman Musab al-Mudaris said Tuesday that the four-year deal stipulates that Iraq buy 850 million cubic feet a day of gas at international market prices.
Al-Mudaris added that the gas will be shipped through a pipeline which will be completed in the coming two months. He said the gas will feed a power plant in Diyala province east of Baghdad and two others in the capital to generate 2,500 MW. The deal was signed in Baghdad on Sunday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Iraq has spent billions of dollars to rebuild its dilapidated electrical grid since the 1990s, but Iraqis still suffer chronic power outages.