Production from the 25-year venture, in which Baghdad has 51%, Shell 44% and Mitsubishi 5%, is expected to reach 2.5 billion cubic feet a day.
The project calls for the construction of a liquefied natural gas terminal, to be built by Shell and Mitsubishi, to handle the export of 600 million cubic feet a day of gas.
Shell had said one option would be to create a floating LNG facility off the coast of Basra in southern Iraq, which would be particularly attractive from a security standpoint.
The joint venture initially would deliver gas to Iraq's domestic market, mainly for electricity generation, but would export the extra gas after meeting local need in the form of LNG.
Iraq, which has natural gas reserves totaling 112.6 trillion cubic feet, produces only around 1.6 billion cubic feet a day, half of which is being flared. However, the country has ambitions to become one of the world's biggest LNG exporters, Mousa said.
Shell in January signed two Iraqi supergiant southern oil fields--a lead role in Majnoon and a minority stake in West Qurna Phase 1. The project will also invest in gas produced from the Rumaila and Zubair oil fields.
(Source: Wall Street Journal)
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