Iraq Approves Massive Emergency Finance Bill to Pay Iran Gas Debt

The parliament, which has still not adopted its budget for 2022, approved the law relating to “food security and development” totaling 25 trillion Iraqi dinars, approximately over $17 billion.

Of that, $2.6 billion will be allocated to settling Iraq’s gas and electricity debts, as well as for buying further energy supplies from abroad, and about $3.4 billion will be used to buy cereals, including large volumes of wheat supplies from both the domestic market and abroad.

Despite its immense oil and gas reserves, Iraq remains dependent on imports to meet energy needs, especially from neighboring Iran, which currently provides a third of Iraq’s gas and electricity needs.