American aid to Iraq to reduce energy imports from Iran

According to Energy Press, the statistics of the World Bank have shown that Iraq ranks second in the world in terms of burning flares with more than 17.9 billion cubic meters of flare gas in 2022.

Burning torches wastes gas resources that can be used to generate power, and as a result, Iraq relies on importing gas and electricity from Iran to supply power. Baghdad aims to eliminate burning torches by 2028.

According to the statement of the US State Department, which was published during the visit of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani to Washington, the US and Iraq signed 2 memorandums of understanding to collect and process gas produced in oil extraction, which will be used to generate electricity. These two memorandums allow Iraq to benefit from the technology and expertise of the American private sector.

Iraq’s Ministry of Oil announced in March that it will cooperate with Siemens Energy and SLB (formerly Schlumberger) to process the collected gases.