Children at the fenceline of a gas compression station in Nahran Omar, close to the city of Basra. Photo: Hussein Faleh / BBC
Big oil’s dirty secret in Iraq
Flaring emissions are extraordinarily high in Iraq but an industry loophole allows companies like BP to hide these emissions in climate reports, a new Unearthed investigation has found
Big oil’s dirty secret in Iraq
Flaring emissions are extraordinarily high in Iraq but an industry loophole allows companies like BP to hide these emissions in climate reports, a new Unearthed investigation has found
Children at the fenceline of a gas compression station in Nahran Omar, close to the city of Basra. Photo: Hussein Faleh / BBC
For years gas flaring has been out of control in Iraq, as oil majors have made millions of pounds in the country.
Some locals fear that pollution from the flaring is contributing to high rates of leukaemia and other cancers among those living in nearby towns. Meanwhile, the methane released by the process is a huge problem for the climate.
Unearthed has spent months examining Iraq’s oil industry and seeing how emissions data from the country measures up against big oil’s climate claims. At the same time, journalists from the BBC have worked on the ground to tell the story of how the lives and health of ordinary Iraqis have been affected by flaring.
The result is a major new investigation.
Read: Big Oil’s Dirty Secret from Unearthed on our dedicated microsite here.
Watch: ‘Under Poisoned Skies’ on BBC iPlayer now.