The land within and surrounding the oilfield has been scarred by dangerous remnants of war: land mines and unexploded ordnance.

Their management and removal are a priority in ensuring the safety of everybody working at Rumaila.

• More than 56,000 items of unexploded ordnance (UXO) have been removed.
• More than 18km² of land was released free of UXO in 2024, pushing the cumulative total to 282km² since the formation of the Rumaila Operating Organisation.

In 2010, ROO conducted an environmental baseline impact survey on the condition of Rumaila’s land before beginning any remediation work. The survey identified 80 old unlined oil pits and basins associated with field facilities which had resulted in the land being contaminated.

Without remediation, an ongoing environmental risk to Rumaila’s biodiversity, land, air and groundwater would exist.

In 2024, intense land remediation activity resulted in the removal of more than 725,000m³ of contaminated soil and more than 690,000m² of land being returned for oilfield use during the year, bringing the total to 4.98 million m² since 2013.

Construction of the Rumaila Waste Centre (RWC) in 2016 enables ROO to responsibly treat and recycle its waste. In so doing, the RWC:

• reduces the demands on local landfill sites by separating what waste can be recycled and incinerating what is not required
• improves the way any hazardous waste such as industrial chemicals are safely packaged and stored
• processes and segregates near to 10 tonnes of waste per day.

In 2024, more than 17,800m³ of waste was compliantly and safely disposed of  alongside the segregation and repacking for future recycling of 429 bales of plastic bottles, 28 bales of aluminium cans, 24 bales of tin cans and 82m³ of glass

A new medical waste incinerator was operational at the RWC throughout 2024, with 19m³ medical waste safely disposed of by ROO clinics.