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Hussein Julood is taking legal action against British energy giant BP after he lost his son to leukemia, which he claims was caused by a gas explosion at Iraq’s largest oil field.
The bereaved father, who lives near the Rumaila field in the southern province of Basra, is demanding the company compensate him for his son Ali’s medical expenses, which have left him in overwhelming debt.
He wants BP to cover the costs of the 21-year-old’s medical treatment — including chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant — and his funeral after he died last April.
On April 22, he sent a pre-action letter
to BP detailing its claim — the first step before legal action is launched. If no agreement is reached, the next stage will be court proceedings, according to Hausfeld & Co, the law firm representing Julood.
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He said no amount of money would make up for his son’s death. But “what I claim is my right,” added the 55-year-old father of seven, from his modest home.
“I’m not only doing this for Ali but also for the poor, the sick and the dying in this region.”
Julood hopes that if he wins compensation from BP, oil companies will be more careful about flaring.
BP is one of the biggest foreign players in Iraq’s oil sector, with a history of oil production in the country dating back to the 1920s, when it was still under British mandate.
In the Rumaila field, it works with the state-owned Basra Oil Company.
In 2022, a BBC investigation into the increased risk of cancer near oil fields in Iraq recorded Ali’s life as part of the investigation.
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Black smoke
Footballer Alli was first diagnosed in 2016. During a medical appointment, Julud said the doctor asked where the family’s home was.
When told that they lived near stacks of flares, the doctor concluded, “That’s why Ali has cancer.”
Gas flaring is the burning of excess gas during oil extraction. It produces huge amounts of carbon dioxide, methane and black soot, endangering health and the environment.
The process “produces a number of pollutants linked to cancer, including benzene,” Greenpeace Middle East and North Africa warned in a statement on Ali’s case last month.
But flaring gas is also cheaper than capturing the associated gas, processing and marketing it.
As Julood approaches his home, he is met with thick black smoke drifting into his neighborhood from the gas flares.
Outside, children play soccer or ride their bikes, seemingly oblivious to the danger.
BP did not respond to AFP’s request for comment.
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However, responding to the BBC’s inquiry, the British oil giant said it had never operated the Rumaila field and was being paid “a fee for the technical services” it provides, which it has received as an allocation of crude oil.
It also expressed “concern” about the issue and said last year it was “working with partners at Rumaila” to review and address the issues raised.
BP said gas flaring at the field has fallen by more than 65 percent over the past seven years and plans are in place to further reduce emissions.
Iraq’s flare volume reached nearly 18 billion cubic meters in 2022, making it second in the world after Russia, according to World Bank data.
“Help the poor”
However, the government has pledged to phase out the practice, hoping that the sequestered gas can instead feed Iraq’s power plants.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said he aimed to eliminate gas flaring within three to five years.
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Iraq’s oil ministry supports many projects in the health sector. And in February, the health ministry said it had agreed with the Basra Oil Company to build a cancer center in the southern province.
Julood was forced to sell his family’s gold and furniture, take out a bank loan and borrow money from friends to cover Ali’s medical bills and funeral, leaving him with little else.
He said he is not alone in lacking the means to move further away from the Rumaila field.
Hausfeld & Co said that under Iraqi law, oil refineries must not be located less than 10 kilometers (six miles) from homes. But in Rumaila, he said “the evidence suggests” that the explosion is occurring just five kilometers from local communities.
“We live here despite the hardship and the fear of disease,” Julood said.
He hoped his legal action would raise awareness about the gas explosions and push oil companies to “provide free medical assistance to the sick and help the poor who can’t move elsewhere.”
Source: AFP