Iraq aims for ending gas flaring and exporting surplus

OPEC member Iraq is inviting global firms for hydrocarbon concessions to develop its massive gas resources by ending flaring of large quantities and exporting the surplus, an Iraqi deputy has said.
Madr Al-Karawi was quoted by Baghdad Today news agency as saying that Iraq is suffering from losses of $2-3 billion a year due to gas flaring, making it heavily reliant on gas imports from neighboring Iran to operate its power facilities.
He told the agency at the weekend that Iraq controls over 125 trillion cubic feet (3.7 trillion cubic metres) of natural gas deposits and that around 70 percent of them are associated with crude oil.
“We believe that the government’s plan to achieve gas self-sufficiency and stopping imports within 2-3 years is realistic,” Karawi said.
“We hope that concessions granted by the government to foreign companies will support plans to expand gas resources, end flaring and export the surplus…Iraq has the potential to export large quantities of gas to world markets as they grow constantly due to the steady rise in gas demand.”
Source: Reuters (Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)