The Resource Curse in Real-Time: Iraq’s Flaring Crisis and the Iran Dependency
By Ken Silverstein
Iraq is currently a study in geopolitical irony. It holds the world’s fifth-largest proven oil reserves, yet it cannot reliably keep the lights on in Baghdad or fully pay its government workers.
As I explored in my latest column for Forbes, the “resource curse” is no longer just an academic theory—it is a daily reality for OPEC’s No. 2 producer.
The Infrastructure Paradox The math of Iraq’s energy sector is staggering:
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The Waste: Iraq flares enough natural gas to power millions of homes.
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The Cost: Because it doesn’t capture that gas, it spends billions of dollars importing electricity and fuel from Iran.
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The Risk: With the regional conflict intensifying and the Strait of Hormuz under pressure, this dependency has shifted from a financial burden to a dire national security vulnerability.
Why This Matters for the Global South This isn’t just an Iraqi problem; it’s a blueprint for what happens when infrastructure investment fails to keep pace with resource extraction. While the world discusses the “energy transition,” nations like Iraq are still struggling with the foundational step: basic resource sovereignty.
Modernizing Iraq’s infrastructure to capture its own flared gas wouldn’t just stabilize its grid—it would decouple its national security from Iranian volatility. Until then, one of the world’s largest oil powers remains a prisoner to its own wasted potential.
This Iraqi dilemma is a microcosm of a larger trend across the Global South: the “Infrastructure Gap” that prevents resource-rich nations from achieving true energy independence. While Western headlines focus on the high-level shifts of the energy transition, many developing economies are still struggling to secure the foundational ability to manage their own raw materials. In my recent travels covering these trade corridors, from the Panama Canal to the Gulf, the theme remains constant: power belongs to those who control the transit and processing, not just the extraction. Until Iraq closes this loop by investing in domestic capture and distribution, it remains a tethered giant in an increasingly volatile global market.
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