Agencies
Iraq and British oil giant BP are set to finalize a deal by early February to develop four oil fields in Kirkuk and curb gas flaring, Iraqi authorities announced Wednesday. The mega-project in northern Iraq will include plans to recover flared gas to boost the country’s electricity production, they said.
Gas flaring refers to the polluting practice of burning off excess gas during oil drilling. It is cheaper than capturing the associated gas. The Iraqi government and BP signed a new memorandum of understanding in London late Tuesday, as Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani and other senior ministers visit Britain to seal various trade and investment deals.
"The objective is to enhance production and achieve optimal targeted rates of oil and gas output,” Sudani’s office said in a statement. Iraq’s Oil Minister Hayan Abdel Ghani told AFP after the new accord was signed that the project would increase the four oil fields’ production to up to 500,000 barrels per day from about 350,000 bpd. "The agreement commits both parties to sign a contract in the first week of February,” he said.
Ghani noted the project will also target gas flaring. Iraq has the third highest global rate of gas flaring, after Russia and Iran, having flared about 18 billion cubic meters of gas in 2023, according to the World Bank. The Iraqi government has made eliminating the practice one of its priorities, with plans to curb 80 percent of flared gas by 2026 and to eliminate releases by 2028.