Abu Dhabi (IraqiNews.com) — Possessing vast hydrocarbon endowments and installed power capacity does not insulate an economy from acute vulnerability without institutional coordination, rapid crisis restoration, and contingency planning, former Iraqi Minister of Electricity Dr. Luay al-Khatteeb warned during the Hili Forum 2026 in Abu Dhabi.
Addressing a high-level panel titled “Gulf Economic Resilience: Energy, Infrastructure, and Influence” —hosted jointly by the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy (AGDA) and the Trends/ECSSR research complex—Al-Khatteeb highlighted the structural lessons drawn from Iraq’s ongoing grid challenges and wider regional supply disruptions.
Al-Khatteeb’s intervention touches directly upon Iraq’s persistent structural dilemma: despite producing over 4.4 million barrels of oil per day and spending billions on generation units over the past decade, chronic gas feedstock shortfalls, distribution grid bottlenecks, and reliance on imported fuels leave the power sector vulnerable during seasonal peaks.
Building durable energy resilience, the panel emphasized, requires moving beyond raw generation figures toward decentralized grid architecture, commercial capture of associated flared gas, upgraded transmission grids, and institutional agility capable of withstanding external geopolitical and financial shocks.