It is no surprise that Mays first official foreign visit by the oil minister in Iraq's belatedly approved new government was to Riyadh. The country badly needs Saudi leniency in Opec+ cuts as well as financial assistance in solving its gas supply woes. Fortunately the kingdom is likely to be receptive to the new US-friendly Iraqi prime minister with the aim of keeping the Baghdad regime out of the sphere of its arch-enemy Iran. A Saudi pledge to contribute to the development of the country's largest non-associated gas field is important in that respect. Weaning Iraq off Iranian gas is a high priority particularly in Washington.
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