By John Lee.
UK-based law firm Hagens Berman EMEA says it has sent a letter before action to BP, giving notice of intended legal proceedings over alleged gas flaring pollution at the Rumaila oil field near Basra, which the firm links to elevated rates of cancer and respiratory illness in surrounding communities.
The letter, sent to BP and other parties, gives notice of intended proceedings in England and Wales under English law on grounds of negligence, private nuisance, public nuisance and unlawful conspiracy. The firm states it is also prepared to bring equivalent claims under Iraqi law.
The firm's nine initial clients live near the Rumaila oilfield, where it alleges routine non-emergency gas flaring has taken place since 2009, which it says breaches a pledge from BP to limit flaring to emergency use. Among the initial clients, the firm says two are suffering from leukaemia, two have lost husbands and one has lost a daughter to forms of cancer allegedly linked to flaring emissions, including benzene and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
The letter before action alleges that BP and associated parties flared associated gas rather than capturing and processing it, in order to maximise production and minimise costs, without regard for the impact on local communities or the environment. Flaring cases have been documented as close as 250 metres from residential properties, the firm says.
According to the firm, from 2021 to 2025 BP and Basra Energy Company Ltd produced more than 1.3 million barrels of oil daily at Rumaila. Citing World Bank data, the firm claims Rumaila accounted for between 1.87% and 3.13% of global gas flaring volume from 2012 to 2024 as a single oil field.
BP was approached for comment but declined.
(Source: Hagens Berman EMEA)
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