By Kadhim Ajrash and Nayla Razzouk – Nov 25, 2010 1:33 PM GMT+0000
Iraq will sign by the end of January an agreement with Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Mitsubishi Corp. for the capture of associated gas at oil fields in the countrys south, the director-general of Iraqs South Gas Co. said.
The agreement will be signed either next month or the one after at the most, once legal details are resolved, Ali Hussain Khudair said today in an interview in Basra, Iraq.
The government gave initial approval on June 29 for the creation of a joint venture with Shell and Mitsubishi to be called Basra Gas Co. The venture would be owned 51 percent by state-run South Gas, with Shell holding 44 percent and Mitsubishi the remaining 5 percent.