Night and day, they would never stop burning: over the past decade, the black plume of gas flaring on top of oil wells became a familiar sight for the thousands of Iraqis who live next to the giant oil fields in the Southern part of the country.

Iraq is the second largest producer within the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Oil accounts for over 90 percent of the country’s income. Following the 2003 US- led invasion, the major oil fields are operated by foreign industry giants like BP, ENI, Exxon, and Lukoil.

But the deceiving promise of wealth and development the black gold carried, is long gone.

“Welcome to hell”, is how the residents in Zubayr - a city of 2 millions next to one of the biggest oil fields - greet foreigners. Streets are unpaved and electricity is available only for a few hours a day. In Basra governorate, thousands of Iraqis struggle to access potable water and households often lack the oil for the generators.

Iraq has been named the fifth-most vulnerable country to climate crisis and water scarcity.

With the war in Ukraine, Europe started importing even more crude from Iraq. In 2022, oil and gas companies recorded unprecedented “monster profit”. Yet, oil companies use water from the rivers to extract the oil and so far failed to invest in infrastructure to limit the environmental impact of extraction.

An ecological disaster is looming over the country, where local communities are left to pay the price of an irreversible environmental degradation.