Iraq is moving urgently to mitigate the anticipated electricity deficit this summer after the US declined to renew a waiver that had allowed it to buy electricity from Iran, bypassing sanctions.
The US administration rescinded a waiver on Saturday as part of US President Donald Trump's “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran, which is “designed to end Iran’s nuclear threat, curtail its ballistic missile programme and stop it from supporting terrorist groups”, the US embassy in Baghdad said.
“We urge the Iraqi government to eliminate its dependence on Iranian sources of energy as soon as possible,” it added, welcoming Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani's commitment to achieve energy independence.
Despite being Opec’s second-biggest producer, Iraq is dependent on Iran for about a third of its electricity needs. It buys 50 million cubic metres of natural gas and 500 megawatts of electricity a day from Iran.
Hours after the US announcement, Mr Al Sudani chaired a meeting to discuss the electricity supply for the upcoming summer and the continuing projects to develop gas reserves.
Mr Al Sudani decided to push several energy-related projects such as linking power stations with gas sources, and installing floating platforms for imported gas.
“We are working on installing floating platforms in our ports which will be crucial for us to import gas from other countries,” Iraqi Electricity Ministry spokesman Ahmed Moussa told Iraq's state TV. “This is a remarkable achievement,” Mr Moussa said.
Iraq's Minister of Electricity, Ziad Ali Fadel, presented a plan to secure electricity supply as well as the operational plan for fuel stations, a statement from the Prime Minister's office said.
For his part, Hayan Abdul Ghani, Minister of Oil, outlined the strategy for supplying power plants with fuel, the agreed quantities, and the floating and mobile gas platforms.
Iraq is in the final stages to finalise a deal with Turkmenistan to import 20 million cubic metres a day of gas in a pipeline that goes through Iran, he added. It also began importing electricity from Jordan through a 340km line in March last year, and aims to connect to the Gulf Co-operation Council's (GCC) power grid by late this year.
On Sunday, the US Charge d’Affaires, Daniel Rubinstein met the Head of the Iraqi Parliament’s Finance Committee Atwan Al Atwani to discuss the impact of the US sanctions on the country's electricity sector. According to the statement from Mr Al Atwani’s office, Mr Rubinstein said that “till now importing natural gas is not covered by the sanctions”.
“Such statements are an admission of lawlessness, an admission of crimes against humanity, because the US sanctions, the unilateral US sanctions, against the Iranian nation have no justification or legal basis,” ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said.
Baghdad has been under pressure from the US to wean itself off Iranian energy imports, which have been subject to US sanctions since 2018. Since then, Washington has repeatedly extended waivers to Baghdad for periods of 45 to 120 days to be able to import Iranian electricity and gas.
In recent years, Iraq has taken some measures to develop its natural gas resources and reduce the shortfalls in the electricity sector that has been continuing for decades. Iraq’s natural gas reserves stand at about 3,714 billion cubic metres, according to Oil Ministry figures.
In April last year, it signed a deal with Ukraine’s Ukrzemresurs company to develop Akkas gasfield in the western part of the country. The company will increase production, from 60 million standard cubic feet per day (scfpd) at present to 100 million within two years. That will increase to 400 million within four years.
Iraq is also working on a deal it signed in 2023 with French company TotalEnergies to develop oil and gas and renewable energy projects worth $27 billion. It also signed several others projects with other companies for solar power plants.
T20 World Cup Qualifier fixtures
Tuesday, October 29
Qualifier one, 2.10pm – Netherlands v UAE
Qualifier two, 7.30pm – Namibia v Oman
Wednesday, October 30
Qualifier three, 2.10pm – Scotland v loser of qualifier one
Qualifier four, 7.30pm – Hong Kong v loser of qualifier two
Thursday, October 31
Fifth-place playoff, 2.10pm – winner of qualifier three v winner of qualifier four
Friday, November 1
Semi-final one, 2.10pm – Ireland v winner of qualifier one
Semi-final two, 7.30pm – PNG v winner of qualifier two
Saturday, November 2
Third-place playoff, 2.10pm
Final, 7.30pm
If you go
The Flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Johannesburg from Dubai and Abu Dhabi respectively. Economy return tickets cost from Dh2,650, including taxes.
The trip
Worldwide Motorhoming Holidays (worldwidemotorhomingholidays.co.uk) operates fly-drive motorhome holidays in eight destinations, including South Africa. Its 14-day Kruger and the Battlefields itinerary starts from Dh17,500, including campgrounds, excursions, unit hire and flights. Bobo Campers has a range of RVs for hire, including the 4-berth Discoverer 4 from Dh600 per day.
ULTRA PROCESSED FOODS
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- Margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars
- Energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- Infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes
- Many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts
Teaching in coronavirus times
FA CUP FINAL
Manchester City 6
(D Silva 26', Sterling 38', 81', 87', De Bruyne 61', Jesus 68')
Watford 0
Man of the match: Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
CREW
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERajesh%20A%20Krishnan%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETabu%2C%20Kareena%20Kapoor%20Khan%2C%20Kriti%20Sanon%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Read more from Aya Iskandarani
The years Ramadan fell in May
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
