Anatomy of a Deal

(Mr Asri Mousa was one of the main Iraqi negotiators of the south gas utilization project with Royal Dutch Shell and Mitsubishi Corp between 2008 and 2011) Iraq has been, since 2008, negotiating with Royal Dutch Shell to establish a joint gas company to capture flared gas from three giant oil fields in the province of Basra. The joint venture is based on a proposal by Iraq to create a…

Iraq Finally on World Gas Map

The Iraqi council of ministers has finally given its final stamp of approval today for the first gas deal of its kind in Iraq’s energy history based on the agreement initialized on July 12 between Royal Dutch Shell, Mitsubishi and South Gas Co, to capture and process flared gas in southern Iraq. This deal would put Iraq on the global gas map, something long due in view of the country’s…

Laith Al-Shaher

Laith Al-Shaher is the Director General of the legal department at the Iraqi oil ministry and one of the main negotiators of the South Gas Project with Royal/Dutch Shell and Mitsubishi. In a first for an oil ministry official, he spells out the main features of the deal in an interview with IOF editor Ruba Husari in Baghdad, as well as the nature of Basrah Gas Co, the first gas joint venture…

Shell, Iraq Push on With JV Gas Talks

6 June 2008 The Iraqi oil ministry and Royal Dutch Shell will launch a second round of talks in Damascus next week on establishing a joint venture in southern Iraq to exploit associated gas, a ministry source in Baghdad told International Oil Daily Thursday. The talks follow a first round of negotiations in late May aimed at concluding a heads of agreement this summer. The Anglo-Dutch supermajor submitted proposals to…