Bazerkan oil field, south of Baghdad
Gas at the heart of Iraq’s transition
While oil has grabbed the headlines for Iraq, tapping its gas potential could transform the country’s economic fortunes
Iraq is a global oil giant, home to c.144bn bl of recoverable reserves, based on a conservative recovery factor of 17-29pc. But it also has the potential to be a gas player of international significance if it can overcome challenges to unlocking this opportunity. Given it provides more than 90pc of government funding, it is no surprise that the export of the vast majority of Iraq’s c.5mn bl/d of oil production attracts greater attention. It is also entirely understandable—with this budget centrality—that Baghdad has ambitions to increase output to 8mn bl/d by 2027. There remain large swathes of the country that are underexplored. And the government is recalculating its recoverable reserve fi
Also in this section
16 January 2026
The country’s global energy importance and domestic political fate are interlocked, highlighting its outsized oil and gas powers, and the heightened fallout risk
16 January 2026
The global maritime oil transport sector enters 2026 facing a rare convergence of crude oversupply, record newbuild deliveries and the potential easing of several geopolitical disruptions that have shaped trade flows since 2022
15 January 2026
Rebuilding industry, energy dominance and lower energy costs are key goals that remain at odds in 2026
14 January 2026
Chavez’s socialist reforms boosted state control but pushed knowledge and capital out of the sector, opening the way for the US shale revolution
