It is not clear with whom the accountability lies for phasing out flaring. The Iraqi government owns the oil field but BP manages it alongside their partner companies. The then oil minister Mr Abdul Jabbar Ismail told the BBC it was therefore BP's responsibility to reduce flaring. BP, however, says the obligation lies with the operator of the oil field - the Rumaila Operating Organisation [Roo] - which BP co-founded and in which it owns a 48% stake.