Iraq Gas Flaring: How Captured Associated Gas Could Power Homes, Industry and Growth
Drive through southern Iraq at night and the oilfields are easy to spot. Tall flare stacks burn around the clock above Basra, Maysan and beyond. Each flame shows oil being produced. It also shows value being lost.
Iraq gas flaring is one of the largest energy wastes in the world. The fuel in those flares is associated gas, the natural gas that comes out of the ground with crude oil. When a field has no way to gather, treat and transport it, operators burn it on site.
The real question for Iraq is how quickly it can build the gas processing facilities, and train the people, needed to capture this resource. For engineers and managers looking to build these skills, AZTech's Refinery Training Courses cover the technical and operational knowledge this transition demands.
How Big Is Iraq's Gas Flaring Problem?
Gas flaring is a global problem, and it is growing. The World Bank's latest Global Gas Flaring Tracker found that global flaring rose for a third straight year to 167 billion cubic metres in 2025, burning gas worth an estimated $54 billion. The same report estimates that flaring produced 429 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions in 2025, including about 50 million tonnes from unburned methane. World BankDown To Earth
Iraq sits near the top of the list. The World Bank placed Iraq with Russia and Iran as the largest flaring countries in 2025, with the three together burning around 84 billion cubic metres, close to half of all gas flared worldwide.
The contradiction is striking. Iraq is OPEC's second-largest oil producer after Saudi Arabia, yet it has been a net gas importer, because weak infrastructure investment meant that until 2023 it flared about half of the roughly 3.12 billion cubic feet per day of gas it produced. Meanwhile, Iraq has run power plants below capacity on highly polluting liquid fuels and bought gas and power from Iran at high prices.
A country that faces regular summer power cuts is burning, every day, a fuel that could keep the lights on.
What Is Associated Gas and Why Is It Flared?
Associated gas is dissolved in crude oil or sits above it in the reservoir. When oil is brought to the surface and pressure drops, the gas separates out. It is usually "wet" (rich in heavier hydrocarbons) and often "sour" (containing hydrogen sulphide and carbon dioxide).
To be useful, this gas must be gathered, compressed, dehydrated, sweetened and fractionated. Without that processing chain, operators have three options: reinject it, vent it, or flare it. In much of Iraq, flaring has been the default.
Three Benefits of Flare Gas Recovery in Iraq
1. More Reliable Electricity
Power generation is the most immediate use for captured gas. Treated dry gas is a clean, steady fuel for gas turbines. Replacing liquid fuels and imports with domestic gas would lower generation costs and reduce exposure to outside supply shocks.
Gas alone will not end outages. Power stations, transmission lines and distribution networks also need investment. But without secure fuel supply, those upgrades cannot deliver their full value.
2. Feedstock for Industry and Refineries
Gas processing separates associated gas into several valuable products:
- Dry gas (mainly methane) for power plants and industry
- Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for cooking and heating
- Condensate that can feed refineries
- Ethane and heavier liquids for petrochemical plants
- Methane feedstock for fertiliser production
Iraq currently imports petrochemicals and other gas-derived products that could be made domestically. Every tonne produced locally keeps value, and jobs, inside the country.
3. Lower Emissions and Healthier Communities
Flares release carbon dioxide, methane, soot and other pollutants that affect nearby communities. Capturing gas cuts these emissions at the source and supports Iraq's commitment to the World Bank's Zero Routine Flaring by 2030 initiative. The World Bank reports that countries committed to Zero Routine Flaring by 2030 have performed significantly better than those that have not. worldbank
Iraq's Major Gas Capture Projects
Iraq is not starting from zero. Two flagship projects in Basra show what successful flare reduction looks like.
Basrah Gas Company (BGC)
Basrah Gas Company is an Iraqi midstream company set up to gather, treat and process gas that was being flared at southern oilfields; it began operating in May 2013 and runs compressor stations, processing plants, pipelines, and a storage and export terminal. It is owned by South Gas Company (51%), Shell (44%) and Mitsubishi (5%).
BGC is expanding through its Basrah Natural Gas Liquids (BNGL) project, which adds two processing trains of 200 million standard cubic feet per day each, raising total capacity from 1 bcf/d to 1.4 bcf/d. The company states it has kept more than 160 million tonnes of CO2 out of the atmosphere since 2013, and in 2025 the IFC was mandated to arrange a second loan of up to $500 million to support the programme.
TotalEnergies' Gas Growth Integrated Project (GGIP)
The Gas Growth Integrated Project is led by TotalEnergies as operator with 45%, alongside Basra Oil Company (30%) and QatarEnergy (25%). It combines recovery of flared gas from three southern oilfields to supply power plants, redevelopment of the Ratawi oil field, a 1 GWac solar farm and a seawater treatment scheme.
Its central gas plant will also process previously flared gas from two other southern fields and deliver it to the national grid, fuelling about 1.5 GW of power capacity for around 1.5 million Iraqi households. Until that plant is commissioned, scheduled for 2028, an interim facility is set to cut flaring at Ratawi, followed by Majnoon and West Qurna.
What Still Stands in the Way?
Despite this progress, big gaps remain. BGC receives raw gas from only three major southern fields: Rumaila, Zubair and West Qurna 1. Many other fields have no gas gathering system at all. Closing the gap requires:
- Accurate measurement of flared volumes, field by field
- Infrastructure: gathering lines, compression, treatment plants and pipelines
- Commercial frameworks: clear gas pricing, offtake agreements and payment security
- Transparency: public reporting of gas captured, processed and used
- Skilled people to design, operate and maintain every facility
The last point is the one most often underestimated.
Why Refinery and Gas Processing Skills Matter
Gas processing and refining are among the most technically demanding operations in energy. Turning raw, wet, sour associated gas into sales-quality products requires separation, compression, dehydration, amine sweetening, fractionation and safe storage.
Every step carries risk. A poorly run amine unit misses gas specifications. An unstable fractionation column wastes valuable liquids. A weak maintenance culture can turn a world-class plant into an unreliable one within a few years. And because these facilities handle flammable, high-pressure and often toxic streams, safety depends on the competence of the team.
As new capacity comes online and existing refineries are upgraded to handle more condensate and cleaner fuels, demand for trained professionals will rise sharply. GGIP construction alone was expected to employ 7,000 Iraqi nationals. Once plants move into operation, the focus shifts to process optimisation, reliability, process safety management and energy efficiency. Total Energies
Capital builds a plant. Competent people make it perform.
Build Your Team's Capability with AZTech Refinery Training Courses
AZTech's Refinery Training Courses help engineers, operators, supervisors and technical managers understand how hydrocarbon processing facilities work, and how to run them safely and efficiently.
Training Courses in the refinery training portfolio cover topics such as:
- Refinery and gas plant configuration, from feed intake to finished products
- Gas treatment, dehydration, sweetening and NGL recovery
- Core refining units: distillation, reforming, hydrotreating and cracking
- Process control, troubleshooting and performance optimisation
- Process safety, hazard identification and incident prevention
- Energy efficiency, flare reduction and environmental compliance
- Maintenance and reliability strategies for higher plant availability
Each course combines technical depth with real-world case studies, so participants can apply what they learn immediately. The programmes suit professionals in refineries, gas processing plants, national oil companies, contractors and energy ministries across Iraq, the GCC and beyond.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Why does Iraq flare so much gas?
Iraq lacks enough gathering, processing and pipeline infrastructure to capture the associated gas produced with its oil, so much of it is burned at the wellsite.
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What can captured associated gas be used for?
It can fuel power stations, supply LPG for households, feed refineries with condensate, and provide feedstock for petrochemical and fertiliser plants.
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Which projects are reducing gas flaring in Iraq?
The largest are Basrah Gas Company, which processes gas from Rumaila, Zubair and West Qurna 1, and TotalEnergies' Gas Growth Integrated Project in Basra.
Who should attend refinery training courses?
Process engineers, plant operators, shift supervisors, maintenance and reliability staff, HSE professionals and technical managers working in refining or gas processing.
From Flames to Value
Iraq does not need to discover this resource. It already rises with its oil every day. The projects in Basra prove that capturing associated gas is possible, commercially viable and transformative for power, industry and the environment.
The next phase will depend as much on people as on pipelines. Organisations that invest in technical skills now will be the ones that turn today's flares into tomorrow's electricity, fuel and growth.
Ready to strengthen your team's expertise? Explore AZTech's Refinery Training Courses and register today.