Iraq Plans to Slash Gas Flaring
By Charles Kennedy - Dec 26, 2024![]()
Iraq plans to cut gas flaring next year and eliminate the practice of burning off associated gas at oilfields by the end of 2027, government officials have said.
As of the end of 2024, Iraq, which is OPEC’s second biggest oil producer after Saudi Arabia, is capturing around 67% of the gas at its oilfields, Ezzet Saber Ismael, Iraq’s deputy minister for gas affairs told Bloomberg in an interview published on Thursday.
Earlier this week, Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed S. Al-Sudani chaired an energy policy meeting, at which officials discussed ongoing natural gas projects, the office of the Iraqi PM said.
“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 is one of the top ten countries in the world in terms of gas flaring, alongside Russia, Iran, Algeria, Venezuela, the U.S., Mexico, Libya, and Nigeria, according to estimates from the Global Gas Flaring Tracker Report by the World Bank.
Iraq has recently launched initiatives to reduce gas flaring, aiming to capture and use the natural gas instead of wasting it.
Despite being OPEC’s second-biggest producer and a major crude oil exporter, Iraq is importing natural gas – including from Iran under a special U.S. waiver – to meet its power generation needs.
Last year, Iraq signed a major deal with France’s supermajor TotalEnergies to develop a Gas Growth Integrated Project (GGIP), which includes the recovery of flared gas on three oil fields in order to supply gas to 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.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
Iraq plans to cut gas flaring next year and eliminate the practice of burning off associated gas at oilfields by the end of 2027, government officials have said.
As of the end of 2024, Iraq, which is OPEC’s second biggest oil producer after Saudi Arabia, is capturing around 67% of the gas at its oilfields, Ezzet Saber Ismael, Iraq’s deputy minister for gas affairs told Bloomberg in an interview published on Thursday.
Earlier this week, Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed S. Al-Sudani chaired an energy policy meeting, at which officials discussed ongoing natural gas projects, the office of the Iraqi PM said.
“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 is one of the top ten countries in the world in terms of gas flaring, alongside Russia, Iran, Algeria, Venezuela, the U.S., Mexico, Libya, and Nigeria, according to estimates from the Global Gas Flaring Tracker Report by the World Bank.
Iraq has recently launched initiatives to reduce gas flaring, aiming to capture and use the natural gas instead of wasting it.
Despite being OPEC’s second-biggest producer and a major crude oil exporter, Iraq is importing natural gas – including from Iran under a special U.S. waiver – to meet its power generation needs.
Last year, Iraq signed a major deal with France’s supermajor TotalEnergies to develop a Gas Growth Integrated Project (GGIP), which includes the recovery of flared gas on three oil fields in order to supply gas to 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.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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