Iran is ready to export natural gas to Kuwait via a pipeline in Iraq, National Iranian Gas Company chief Hamidreza Araghi said on Sunday.
“There is capacity to export gas to Kuwait via Iraq, and this plan can become operational if a contract is signed,” Araghi was quoted as saying by the oil ministry news agency Shana.
The Gulf Arab state has been eyeing Iranian gas exports since June last year, with oil minister Ali Saleh al-Omair saying that the government was looking into signing an agreement.
But poor infrastructure, sanctions on Iran, and diplomatic issues (Kuwait is a close ally of the US and Saudi Arabia) could present major obstacles to sealing a gas export deal between the two countries.
Araghi said that Iran would start exporting gas to Iraq by the middle of May.
Exports would start at 5 to 7mn cubic metres a day (mcm/d), eventually rising to 25 mcm/d.
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