Iran sees dollar signs with Iraqi gas deal

Iran will earn more than $300 million every month by exporting natural gas to Iraq, the director of the National Iranian Gas Co. said Wednesday. Iran and Iraq this week signed a natural gas contract for pipeline deliveries from the South Pars gas complex in the Persian Gulf. National Iranian Gas Co. Managing Director Javad Oji said the deal would satisfy 65 percent of Baghdad's gas needs and 35 percent of the country's overall needs, the Oil Ministry's news agency Shana reports. "We will earn $350 million each month through exportation of 880 million cubic feet of gas per day to Iraq," he said. Oji said the South Pars gas complex would be the source of Iraq's energy needs for the foreseeable future. The Iranian government said development of the field, one of the largest in the world, is proceeding rapidly despite sanctions imposed on the country's energy sector. Sanctions imposed on Iran as punishment for its nuclear research make it difficult for Tehran to work with foreign contractors. The government said, however, that provides a source of stimulus for the domestic energy sector.