IRAQ TO SLASH GAS FLARING BY 2027
Iraq plans to significantly reduce gas flaring next year, aiming to completely halt the burning of associated gas at oilfields by the end of 2027, according to government officials.
By the close of 2024, Iraq—OPEC's second-largest oil producer after Saudi Arabia—will be capturing approximately 67% of the gas produced at its oilfields, Deputy Minister for Gas Affairs Ezzet Saber Ismael told Bloomberg in an interview on Thursday.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Mohammed S. Al-Sudani chaired an energy policy meeting where officials reviewed progress on ongoing natural gas projects, according to a statement from the Prime Minister's office.
“Current progress includes a significant reduction in gas flaring levels, reaching 67%, with projections to achieve 80% by the end of next year and complete elimination of flaring by the end of 2027,” the office of the prime minister said in a statement.
Iraq ranks among the world’s top ten countries for gas flaring, alongside nations like Russia, Iran, Algeria, Venezuela, the U.S., Mexico, Libya, and Nigeria, according to the World Bank’s Global Gas Flaring Tracker Report.
The country has recently introduced measures to curb gas flaring, focusing on capturing and utilizing natural gas instead of allowing it to go to waste.
Despite its status as OPEC’s second-largest producer and a leading crude oil exporter, Iraq still imports natural gas—primarily from Iran under a special U.S. waiver—to meet its electricity generation demands.
In 2022, Iraq signed a landmark agreement with France’s TotalEnergies for the Gas Growth Integrated Project (GGIP). This initiative aims to recover flared gas from three oil fields to supply fuel for power generation plants.
Commenting on the agreement, the U.S. State Department said that “the United States strongly supports Iraq’s efforts to become more energy secure and minimize harmful emissions.”
“Minimizing the current practice of gas flaring by capturing the massive amounts of methane being burned away will significantly reduce emissions, improve public health for Iraqis, and utilize captured gas to power Iraq’s electrical grid,” the State Department added.
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