Iraqi cabinet approves electricity, oil and water agreements

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq's Council of Ministers, chaired by Prime Minister Ali Fallah al-Zaydi, held its twelfth regular session in Baghdad on Monday evening and approved a series of decisions covering the power sector, energy exports, and diplomatic arrangements. The cabinet declared August 3 and 4, 2026 — Monday and Tuesday — as official public holidays to ensure the smooth return of pilgrims following the fortieth anniversary commemoration of Imam Hussein. In the area of foreign relations, the council voted to bring the Iraq-Turkey Framework Water Agreement into force and to activate its project financing mechanism starting September 1, 2026. To diversify oil export routes, the cabinet authorized the director general of the Basra Oil Company to sign a memorandum of understanding with Iraq's Ministry of Energy and Syria's Ministry of Energy for a pipeline project linking Iraqi crude production to world markets via the Mediterranean. The energy minister was also given authority to begin negotiations with a consortium of ConocoPhillips, TI Capital and Novatarr on exploration and development opportunities around the Akkas field in western Iraq. Additional oil-sector decisions covered tendering the integrated Kayyer project under the general contracts implementation framework, approving integrated field management and engineering procurement services for the West Qurna-2 field, and underwriting material and cable supply and field implementation costs for a 3.6-kilometer underground power line operated by the Basra Oil Company. A contract appendix covering 350 MW of floating power capacity was extended from June 24, 2026 to September 30, 2026. The cabinet also revised allowances for scholarship students under Regulation No. 2018/3.