Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani left Thursday for Berlin to meet with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and discuss projects to address chronic power shortages, the premier's office said.

Despite its oil riches, Iraq is beset by crumbling infrastructure, endemic corruption and decades of war.

Dependent on its powerful neighbour Iran for much of its energy needs, Baghdad seeks to diversify its sources of gas and electricity supply.

Sudani, in power since October, will be received Friday "with military honours at the Federal Chancellery at 1:00 pm (1200 GMT)", said German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit.

The two leaders are expected to discuss "bilateral and regional issues", he added.

Sudani expects to sign a memorandum of understanding with German firm Siemens Energy that would pave the way to the "rehabilitation and maintenance" of Iraq's power grid, the Iraqi prime minister's press service said in a statement.

It described it as a "promising plan for developing the electricity sector... in the field of production, transmission and distribution".

Regular power outages last between four and 10 hours a day, putting a strain on Iraq's 42 million inhabitants, nearly one-third of whom live in poverty, according to the United Nations.

Wealthier Iraqis resort to using generators.

Last month Sudani met with Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Baghdad, calling for closer economic ties including in the energy sector.

In Berlin, Sudani also intends to raise the issue of the highly polluting practice of gas flaring, the statement said.

The government seeks to eliminate gas flaring, a precursor to oil extraction, which contributes to global warming. The United Nations says Iraq is one of five countries most exposed to some impacts of climate change.

Captured and treated, flared gas could help address Iraq's chronic power shortages.

lk-hmn-gde/ami/it

SIEMENS ENERGY

Related Links
All About Oil and Gas News at OilGasDaily.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Should fossil fuel firms be forced to clean up carbon pollution
Paris (AFP) Jan 12, 2023
Could fossil fuel companies be forced to remove planet-heating carbon pollution from the atmosphere? Researchers argue in a new paper that would be a cheaper, fairer solution to the climate crisis. They suggest, in the research published Thursday, that the principle of extended producer responsibility (EPR) - a policy tool often used to deal with waste - should be extended to the oil, gas and coal industries. The study said impelling fossil fuel firms to use technologies to suck carbon f ... read more