Iraqi Cabinet approves initial gas deal with Shell
BAGHDAD: Iraq’s Cabinet approved an initial gas agreement Sunday between the Oil Ministry and Royal Dutch Shell to invest in a joint venture to tap natural gas in southern Iraq, a government statement said.
The agreement calls for establishing a joint venture between the state-run South Oil Co. and Shell to exploit the fields, the statement added without any other details.
Last June, Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani told parliament that Iraq was expected to finalize a deal this summer that would enable it to exploit flared associated gas for domestic use and exports.
Shell had approached the Oil Ministry in December with its plans and since then meetings have been held outside Iraq, mainly in Damascus, Syria.
Shell is expected to invest US$3 billion to US$4 billion over five years to gather at least 500-600 million cubic feet of flared gas per day from the southern fields.
The state-run South Oil Co. is expected to control 51 percent of the venture while Shell would hold the remaining 49 percent.
The agreement provides for construction of a number of liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities, the statement said.
According to Iraqi oil officials, Iraq loses approximately US$40 million worth of natural gas each day either re-injected into wells or burned due to a lack of sufficient infrastructure to exploit it for consumption or export.
The agreement would be Iraq’s second major hydrocarbon deal since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003 that toppled Saddam Hussein.
Last week, the Cabinet approved a US$3 billion deal with China to develop the Ahdab oil field in southern Iraq.
Under the contract, China National Petroleum Corp. will develop the field for 20 years. It’s expected to produce up to 25,000 barrels per day after three years, and eventually reach 125,000 bpd.
The ministry also said it was negotiating with Shell to conduct output tests for the Akkas gas field in western Iraq with estimated reserves of more than 2.15 trillion cubic feet.
The field, which has five wells that are ready to be interconnected, could produce up to 50 million cubic feet a day as a first stage and could be increased to 500 million cubic feet a day, it said. Gas would be pumped through Syria and Turkey to consumers in Europe.
Shell is also negotiating a one-year service contract with the Iraqi Oil Ministry to develop Missan and Kirkuk oil fields. It is one of at least five contracts Iraq is negotiating with oil majors to boost its current 2.5 million barrel per day.
Iraq has the world’s third-largest oil reserves with an estimated 115 billion barrels. It also sits on an estimated 112 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves, according to the ministry.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/09/07/africa/ME-Iraq-Gas-Deal.php
This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
MORE DETAILS:
A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
