The Development of NaturalGas Extraction in the Middle East (A case study of Iraq)

In this article I try to present the situation of gasinternational market and also the role played by theMiddle East region on this market that has a highpotential of production and export. The largest gasreserves are in the Middle East region but they arenot developed due to difficult technical conditions,poor transport infrastructure, and lack of neededfunds and investments. But the main problem isrepresented by great political and military tensionsexisting in the region which has a long negativetradition in maintaining and fueling a conflictualsituation mirrored by successive wars and militaryconflicts. One can see a permanent confrontationbetween major local powers and between majorworld powers which create high obstacles to socialand economic progress. In my opinion democracyand cooperation are the only viable alternativesbased on a new vision upon international political andeconomic relations. It is extremely important thatgreat powers like USA, EU, China to be moreinvolved in this region in order to provide enougheconomic, financial and technological support fordeveloping gas projects, which may contribute toregional political stability and to the acceleration ofMiddle East economic development.The Development of NaturalGas Extraction in the MiddleEast (A case study of Iraq)Dr. 92