According to a report published on January 12, 2025, Iraq’s Basra city has struggled with industrial pollution for many years, but thanks to the “Blue Sky Projects” implemented by Chinese companies, there has been a noticeable improvement in air quality. Hussein, a petroleum engineer from Basra, says, “The air in Basra is much cleaner now.” A few years ago, it was unimaginable to think of such a change in a city where black smoke once dominated the sky.
At the heart of this environmental transformation is the Basra Natural Gas Liquids (BNGL) project, established by China Petroleum Engineering and Construction Corporation (CPECC). This project processes gas from three major oil fields, preventing its release into the atmosphere. Additionally, the energy generated from this gas is helping nearby communities that have long suffered from electricity shortages. In the Al-Rumaila oil field, old high-pressure gas flaring systems are being replaced with new ones, and this upgrade project, expected to be completed by February 2025, aims to make Basra’s air even cleaner and the sky bluer.