Iraq is in discussions to sign energy deals with Saudi Arabia worth tens of billions of U.S. dollars, according to Iraq’s oil minister. OPEC’s second-largest producer, Iraq, and OPEC’s top producer Saudi Arabia are discussing contracts in the energy, water desalination, and petrochemical sectors, Iraqi daily Al-Sabah quoted Iraq’s Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar Ismail as saying on Monday. Iraq is in talks with Saudi oil giant Aramco about a potential partnership to explore and develop natural gas fields in the western desert in Iraq, according to the Iraqi minister. Despite holding huge oil and gas reserves, Iraq has struggled to develop them and is not self-sufficient in energy and electricity supply. Iraq has been suffering from power outages and disruptions due to a lack of investment in its transmission grids. Iraq also relies on electricity and natural gas imports from neighboring Iran for its power supply and has […]