This time for Iraqi gas?
The new Baghdad government hopes to succeed where predecessors have failed in developing supply
New Iraqi oil minister Hayan Abdulghani took office in October pledging to accelerate gas development. Successive oil chiefs have been making the same promise for well over a decade, yet only a single significant non-associated field is onstream while the volume of associated gas productively harnessed remains less than that squandered in environmentally damaging flaring. Instead, Iraq remains dependent on imports from Iran, with all the fiscal and political issues that brings. There are, though, reasons to hope that Abdulghani might fare better than his predecessors, not least of these is awareness of the need to seize the opportunity created by conducive international market conditions. Us
Also in this section
13 March 2026
Brussels is again weighing a cap on gas prices amid the Hormuz crisis, but the measure could backfire by deterring the LNG cargoes Europe urgently needs
12 March 2026
Emergency oil stocks provide a last line of defence to oil market shocks, so the IEA’s unprecedented 400m bl release represents something of a double-edged sword
12 March 2026
LPG could rapidly expand access to clean cooking across Africa and prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths from indoor air pollution each year, but infrastructure shortages and regulatory barriers are slowing investment and market growth
11 March 2026
Missiles over Dubai and disruption in Hormuz are testing the emirate’s reputation—and shaking the energy hub at the centre of the Gulf economy






