As Iraq seeks to strengthen its bilateral relationship with the United States, the legislators plan to minimize the production of flare gas. Despite ranking fifth with the world’s largest oil reserves, the Iraq authority unveiled its intent to curb the emission of flare gas.
Speaking exclusively at the US-Iraq Higher Coordinating Committee Meeting, the deputy prime minister Muhammad Ali Tamim explained the need for the two countries to strengthen their partnership. The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken attended the meeting with other regulators.
Iraq Seeks to Strengthen Relationship with the US
In his speech, Mr Tamim stated that Iraq plans to reduce its over-dependence on fossil fuels. The official admitted that besides the economic benefits of producing oil, the Iraqi government seeks to create a net zero carbon emission atmosphere.
To attain the Iraq net-zero goal, the government seeks to enter into a strategic partnership with key industry players to create advanced technology that will reduce the emission of flare gas.
Tamim stated that flare gas is produced as a by-product of the production of gas. Mostly, the flare gas has posed a threat to the natural surroundings and diminishes the quality of life.
Based on the environmental damages caused by the emission of flare gas, the Iraqi government plans to broaden its partnership with renowned companies to develop cutting-edge technologies that capture flare gas emitted from oil and gas fields.
The prime minister confirmed that the government of Iraq was holding talks with various companies and individuals to expand its energy production. Citing the damages caused by flare gas, Tamim underlined that the government of Iraq seeks to invest in maximizing the production of renewable and solar energy to curb the emission of poisonous gasses.
Iraqi Authority Seeks to Trap Flare Gas
The proposal of shifting Iraq’s energy production to renewable sources will enable the government to attain independence in energy. Tamim explained that crude hot gasses escape through the processing equipment during production.
In the production process the waste gas is used to create electricity while a considerable amount of these gasses are emitted to the atmosphere. The legislator confirmed that Iraq ranks among the world’s top exporters of crude oil.
The prime minister confessed that Iraq seeks to maximize its export of natural gas. However, plans to optimize the export of gases have been limited by the Middle Eastern country’s inadequate electricity production.
Tamim regretted that Iraq failed to consider the economic feasibility of converting flared gas to electricity. The legislator emphasized the importance of converting the flare gas to energy.
Miners Using Flare Gas to Power Crypto Mining
In a recent report, the Rumaila oil field was ranked as the largest producer of flare gas in Iraq. The emission of toxic gasses from the oil firm endangered the lives of millions, forcing the Iraqi authority to establish the Basrah gas company that would capture poisonous gas from the fields.
The Iraq authority plans to mitigate the emission of flare gas by 2027. Tamim proposed that the Iraq authority develop advanced technologies to trap the flare gas. The prime minister’s proposal faced backlash from the crypto community, who thought that the use of new technologies to capture flare gas would undermine crypto mining activities.
Recently, the high cost of electricity has forced the miners to explore alternative energy sources, such as nuclear energy, to optimize crypto-mining processes.Led by the Texas-based crypto-miner Giga revealed plans to trap flare gas from local oil fields to power mining activities.
The Giga team converted the natural gas emitted from oil wells to electricity that was used in powering the miners. In 2021, the Giga team confirmed that flare gas significantly reduced the miner operation cost. According to CNBC, the Giga yielded a revenue of $4 million in 2021.
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