On Monday morning,  17/10/ 2022 in the Department of Geography and Geographic Information Systems at the College of Arts at the University of Basrah, a master  thesis entitled “The Natural Gas Industry in Basrah Governorate and its Developmental Effects” (a study in the geography of industry) was discussed.

The thesis presented by the student Fatima Ayoub Yaqoub included four chapters. The first chapter discussed the concept of natural gas, its characteristics, types and historical development, the second chapter discussed the components of the natural gas industry settlement in Basrah Governorate, the third chapter dealt with the production and geographical distribution of natural gas, and the fourth chapter included the developmental effects of the natural gas industry.

The thesis aims to explain the role and importance of natural gas in the economy of Basrah and Iraq, and to highlight the developmental impact and the extent to which other sectors benefit from it, as it enters either as a raw material in the industry such as petrochemicals and fertilizers or as a fuel for electric stations, based on the analysis of the sites of this industry and the nature of the changes that it went through during the study phase.

The thesis concluded:

1. The production of natural gas had its beginnings in Kirkuk governorate in northern Iraq in 1927, associated with crude oil, while the production of natural gas in Basrah governorate began in 1948 and was also associated with crude oil.

2. The wars that Iraq went through affected the production and industry of natural gas in Basrah governorate significantly, as the Iraqi-Iranian war led to the cessation of production and export of natural gas from Basrah Governorate.