TEHRAN - The Secretary of Iranian Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Products Exporters' Union (OPEX) Hamid Hosseini said currently 60 percent of Iran’s gasoline exports go to Iraq, IRNA reported.

The official did not provide information on the amount of exports.

“Currently, the country’s export of oil products is favorable and all shipments are purchased,” Hosseini said.

He explained that the oil products which are offered at the country’s Energy Exchange (IRENEX) are exported to the destination markets after being purchased by domestic companies.

There is no problem in transferring money for the export of oil products, including gasoline, and the money is paid either by the exchange offices or in the form of hard currency by the buyer, Hosseini said.

Mentioning the payment of Iraq’s electricity and natural gas dues to Iran, the official said the two sides have reached an agreement and hopefully Iraq will make the payments soon.

He put Iraq’s electricity and gas dues to Iran at $5 billion, adding that despite these dues Iran is still exporting gas and electricity to the Arab neighbor.

According to Hosseini, the mentioned money is going to be paid back to Iran through a mechanism in which Iran will purchase the country’s necessary commodities, like foodstuff and medicine, and Iraq will pay for the mentioned products instead of Iran.

He further noted that Iran exported 32 million cubic meters of gas to Iraq during the Q1 of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-June 20) while the figure was even higher in Q2.

Earlier this month, the Governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) visited Iraq on the head of a high-ranking delegation to meet with the country’s high-ranking officials, including the Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, the Minister of Finance, and the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq Mustafa Ghalib Mukheef.

Iran and Iraq had previously agreed to eliminate the U.S. dollar from their trade and to carry out trade exchanges with national currencies.

The two countries are planning to increase their mutual trade to $20 billion in the near future.

EF/MA