Shafaq News/ Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad is set to head to Baghdad in the coming days for high-stakes talks aimed at deepening energy cooperation between Iran and Iraq.

According to IRNA, Paknejad’s visit comes at the invitation of his Iraqi counterpart, Hayan Abdul Ghani, and is expected to sign memoranda of understanding in the energy sector during his visit.

“There are good relations and interactions with Iraq in various fields, and this cooperation is particularly ongoing in the oil industry and the implementation of joint oil projects,” the Iranian minister added.

In 2023, Abdul Ghani revealed that Iranian oil tankers detained by US forces in the Gulf had used forged Iraqi documents.

Baghdad and Tehran signed an agreement in 2017 to swap Iranian gas for Iraqi crude oil. However, both countries are currently facing challenges due to the suspension of a US waiver that had allowed Iraq to purchase Iranian gas to support its electricity sector.

Iraq and Iran share five oil fields along their 1,458-kilometer-long common border, most of which are located in the south, near Iran’s oil-rich Ahvaz region, according to Iraqi official estimates.

The jointly operated fields include Majnoon, Abu Gharb, Buzurgan, Fakka, and Naft Khana. Iraqi data estimates the combined reserves of these cross-border fields at more than 95 billion barrels.