The Iraqi Ministry of Oil issued an announcement on Sunday, June 18, 2023, asking foreign oil corporations to compete for contracts to investigate and exploit natural gas sources in 11 different regions. This is a move to create more energy from homegrown resources and to lessen the need to buy costly imported gas, which heavily impacts the national budget. Eight of these areas are located in the Anbar governorate in the west. One is in Mosul in northern Iraq, another is between Anbar and Mosul, and the final location is between Anbar and Najaf in central Iraq. The ministry has also completed all preparations for issuing licenses for Gas Exploration, although they have not yet specified when firms should submit their bids.
Iraq, the second largest producer in OPEC after Saudi Arabia, is suffocating from its own combustible resources. The hot gas emitted as a byproduct of oil extraction operations is too immense to be properly harnessed and converted into fuel, leading to a wasteful burning that fills the air with thick, dirty smoke. The United States has made it clear that it will not permit Iraq's reliance on Iranian gas imports to generate electricity, pressuring Baghdad to find new ways of generating power or face dire consequences.
