Gas capture projects advance as Iraq aims to end flaring

Iraq is poised to make significant progress in its quest to capture more of the associated gas that is produced along with crude oil — a cornerstone of the government's efforts to improve electricity, support the national budget, improve public health, and meet new international climate pledges.

Due to decades of underinvestment, poor planning, and mismanagement, Iraq lacks the infrastructure to capture and process about half of the associated gas it produces. Instead, that valuable commodity — some 18 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas annually — is burned in a wasteful process known as flaring, which is one major cause of global climate change.