Iraqi Oil Minister Thamer Ghadhban speaks to the media during a handover ceremony at the ministry’s headquarters in Baghdad, Oct. 31, 2018. Photo: Reuters / Khalid Al-Mousily.

Iraq has contingency plans for any stoppage to Iranian gas imports for its power grid, but hopes no such disruption will take place, Oil Minister Thamer Ghadhban said on Thursday.

He said the next meeting of OPEC’s ministerial monitoring committee in Saudi Arabia would assess member states’ commitment to a current production reduction and that current oil prices and markets were stable.

Turkey has asked Iraq to purchase more of its crude, Ghadhban added, speaking to journalists in Baghdad.

He said international oil companies were operating as normal and assured them that oilfields in the south and north of the country were safe and secure amid increased regional tensions between the United States and Iran.