Kuwait has agreed with Iraq to import up to 200 million cubic feet (5.6 million cubic meters) of Iraqi natural gas daily, in a deal eventually worth billions of dollars, a senior official said yesterday A joint economic commission between the two neighbors approved a memorandum of understanding (MoU), which is expected to be signed by the two governments within a week, Kuwaiti Energy Ministry Undersecretary Issa Al-Oun told reporters after a meeting of the commission. Al-Oun, who heads the Kuwaiti side in the joint body, said the project, including the building of facilities and rehabilitation of a pipeline that will carry the gas, would cost 240 million Kuwaiti dinars (about $810 million). One month after signing the MoU, the two Arab countries will ink a commercial agreement to regulate the imports which are due to start within one year of signing the agreement, Al-Oun said. In the first phase, Kuwait will import some 35 million cubic feet (one million cubic meters) of Iraqi gas daily in a project estimated to cost $27 million of which the emirate will pay $20 million, the official said. Details for the second phase will be discussed in a meeting three months from now, Al-Oun said. It is estimated to cost $786 million of which Kuwait will pay $440 million and the rest will be paid by Iraq, he said. Kuwait, which is rich in oil but poor in natural gas resources, also agreed to increase its exports of refined products to Iraq to help the war-ravaged country cope with fuel shortages, Al-Oun said. The quantity of petrol will be raised from two million liters (440,000 gallons) daily now to three million liters daily from January 1 for six months, he said. Kuwait will also export up to 1.5 million liters (330,000 gallons) of diesel daily in addition to 180,000 tons of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) daily to Iraq until the end of June next year, Al-Oun said.
