Turkey and Shell ready to sign agreement for Iraqi gas exploration
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Ekim 16, 2008 09:27
Turkey and Shell are on the brink of an agreement to carry out joint natural gas exploration works in northern Iraq, a Turkish newspaper reported on Thursday.
A senior official from Turkey's Energy Ministry said Shell and the state-owned Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) are going to search for gas in the Middle East, Sabah daily said. According to the report, Shell wants to start the search and production of gas in northern Iraq, home to the Kurdish regional administration; however, Turkey has demanded operations for all Iraq.Head of Shell Gas and Power in Turkey, Nusret Comert, who said the talks with TPAO had been ongoing for some time, added that, "We have good relations with TPAO. Our talks continue for cooperation," the report also said. He declined to comment on Shell's desire to start operations in northern Iraq.Meanwhile, Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani is currently holding meetings with representatives of oil companies in London.Iraq, who wants to ramp up oil production by 500,000 barrels per day from the current average production of 2.5 million barrels per day (bpd) initially granted permission to 35 oil prospecting companies, including Shell, BP, ExxonMobil, Chevron.Iraq's crude reserves are estimated at about 115 billion barrels, but it is sorely lacking in infrastructure and the latest technology to which it was denied access under years of international sanctions after the 1991 Gulf War.