Europe and Iraq make energy inroads

BRUSSELS, April 17 (UPI) -- Iraqi and European leaders envision partnership, especially in the oil and gas sector, following meetings this week in Brussels.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani were both meeting top officials in the European Commission.

"We've come here to look for a new relationship," Maliki told members of the European Parliament's Iraq Relations Office and the Foreign Affairs Committee, the EU Observer reports. "We don't want the EU to be the donor and we the recipient. Iraq is a major oil producer and we want to exploit that potential."

Iraq produces 2.4 million barrels of oil per day, an increase of late, and is attempting to bring in foreign companies to further develop the sector. It's also received European support to develop electricity sector governance and a key gas field near the Syrian border.

The Akkas gas field would feed Syria's growing demand for energy, but Europe is keen on it connecting with the Arab Gas Pipeline, pegged over the coming years to transit north from Syria to the energy hub in Turkey, and on to Europe.

Europe is trying to diversify its energy sources. Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs said in a statement following a working breakfast with Shahristani Iraq promised 177 billion cubic feet of Akkas gas in a "gesture of goodwill from Iraq to the EU."

The two sides also are looking to develop a solar energy sector in Iraq.

U.S., Iraqi and Turkish energy officials are in the process of establishing the development of gas in Iraq's northern area to be piped directly to Turkey and on to the rest of Europe. The Kurdistan Regional Government and Iraq's central government will need to reach a deal first. The KRG is working with two firms from the United Arab Emirates, Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum (the latter a large stakeholder in the former) to develop its gas sector.

"We want to establish an energy security partnership, which will benefit both European consumers and Iraq's economy," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said at a news conference Wednesday.

The two sides are looking to sign an official agreement on broad economic cooperation soon.