TEHRAN, Jan. 20 (UPI) -- Iranian energy officials said they would approach Baghdad on the possibility of shipping Iranian gas across the shared border for electricity production. Iran sits on some of the largest natural gas deposits in the world. Its South Pars gas complex in the Persian Gulf is the largest in the world. Iraq, more than six years after the U.S.-led invasion to remove Saddam Hussein from power, still grapples with roaming blackouts. Mostafa Kashkouli, the deputy managing director of the National Iranian Gas Co., said Tehran is interested in delivering gas to Iraq through two pipelines that cross the border at Dehloran near central Iraq and Khorramshar near the Persian Gulf, Iran's Press TV reports.
Iranian Oil Minister Massoud Mir Kazemi said following his appointment in 2009 that Iraq was a potential customer for Iranian gas as electricity rationing is still in place in parts of the country. Faced with punitive economic sanctions for a controversial nuclear program, Kashkouli added Iran is keen to find new consumers for its gas reserves.