Shell inks agreement to invest US$11 bln in petrochem project in Iraq

29-Jan-15

Royal Dutch Shell has signed a deal with the Iraqi government for US$11 bln to build a petrochemical plant in the country’s southern oil hub of Basra, as per Reuters. The complex, known as Nibras, is expected to come online within five to six years and will make Iraq the largest petrochemical producer in the Middle East. The estimated production capacity will be 1.8 mln tpa of petrochemical products. Company officials declined to confirm the size or types of output expected from the facility. "Shell has been working with the Iraqi ministries of industry and minerals and jointly with the ministries of oil and transport to develop a joint investment model for a world-scale petrochemical cracker and derivative complex in the south of Iraq," the spokesman said.