Iraq held high-profile ceremonies last week showcasing progress the country is making in bringing online new gas processing capacity aimed at ending routine gas flaring. Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani inaugurated two new gas plants which have been brought online since late-2024. These took processing capacity to more than 2.1bn cfd, from 1.3bn cfd in 2023 (MEES, 6 June). Yet despite this increased capacity and bullish comments from officials, there is little indication of significant increases in gas capture rates.
The newly inaugurated plants are the 130mn cfd Faihaa gas plant operated by China’s UEG and brought online in December 2024, and the 200mn cfd BNGL 2 facility which was commissioned in April. The latter is the final portion of a two-phase expansion by Basrah Gas Company (BGC: South Gas Company 51%, Shell 44%, Mitsubishi Corporation 5%), which now has processing capacity of 1.4bn cfd. BGC processes gas from the Rumaila, Zubair and West Qurna-1 oilfields. (CONTINUED - 1022 WORDS)
