Kuwait/Iraq Finally at the Table

A Kuwaiti-Iraqi committee discussed on Saturday (17 January) a number of energy-related issues including the possibility of exporting Iraqi natural gas to Kuwait and of Iraq using Kuwaiti ports to export crude oil.

The committee agreed to have Iraq export natural gas to Kuwait in two stages, the first involving the export of 35m cubic feet of gas daily, the second 200m cubic feet, said Undersecretary of the Ministry of Energy Isa Alun at a press conference following the committee meeting. He noted that the Iraqi side at the meeting expressed the desire to import Kuwaiti oil by-products especially gasoline from which Iraq suffers an acute shortage. The Kuwaiti side conditioned such a deal with the requirement that Iraq would assume the responsibility for the transport of the Kuwaiti products to Iraq, said Alun.

The Iraqi officials affirmed that they welcomed the Kuwaiti private sector to pursue oil and gas investments in Iraq and urged Kuwait to open a commercial bureau in Basra to look after Kuwaiti investments there. In addition to that, these officials also asked the Kuwaiti side to consider the exportation of Iraqi oil via Kuwaiti ports. Alun said that this request could not be met at this time because of the lack of facilities at Kuwaiti ports to handle large export shipments of that kind. However he added that such an arrangement could take place in four-years' time when the ports would be renovated to handle large capacities of energy-exports.