11 July 2009
The Iraqi Oil Ministry will soon reach an agreement with the giant companies of Shell and Mitsubishi to form an Iraqi-foreign firm to invest in the natural gas that comes along with the excavated crude oil in southern Iraq, the Ministry's spokesperson said on Saturday.

"As a first step, the investment will embrace around 700 million standard cubic meters of natural gas," Assim Jihad told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

"The project will provide gas to power stations, petrochemical facilities and gas factories," he said.

Currently, Iraq consumes its natural gas by burning it.

© Aswat Aliraq 2009