Shafaq News

Iraq has reached self-sufficiency in gas oil (diesel) and aims to eliminate gas flaring by 2028, Oil Minister Hayan Abdul Ghani said on Sunday, while warning that the halt in Kurdistan’s oil exports is costing the country 300,000 barrels per day.

Speaking in Basra during a visit to the Oil Training Institute, Abdul Ghani said gas capture rates improved from 53% at the start of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s government to 67% today, and are expected to reach 70% by the end of 2025.

“We will fully end flaring and utilize all associated gas by 2028,” the minister said.

He added that Iraq is diversifying its gas imports beyond Iran. A 40-kilometer pipeline has been completed in Basra, and another 75-km line from Mahmudiya to Bismayah will be finished this month despite delays.

Iraq is in talks to import 500 to 750 million cubic feet of liquefied gas to power electricity stations. Diesel reserves now exceed 1 million cubic meters—five times previous levels—according to Abdul Ghani.

The minister noted that fuel imports, which once cost $5 billion annually, have dropped sharply, with only gasoline still being imported. “Gasoline imports will end by the close of this year,” he said.

On stalled oil exports from the Kurdistan Region, Minister Abdul Ghani said Baghdad had agreed with Erbil to amend the federal budget law to facilitate exports via Turkiye’s Ceyhan port. However, unexpected conditions imposed by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on oil company payments stalled the deal.

“We proposed appointing a consulting firm to determine per-barrel production costs, but the KRG rejected this,” he said. “The continued suspension of exports is costing Iraq 300,000 barrels per day—barrels that count against Iraq’s OPEC quota without generating any revenue.”