Already with a big presence in Iraq, Shell plans to expand in the country. Currently, it is developing the huge Majnoon oilfield near Basra. It will also gain access to vast amounts of natural gas, one of the main feedstocks for the petrochemical industry, with a project to capture associated gas from the country's southern oilfields. The company is now looking to add to a string of new petrochemical projects by capitalising on the emerging feedstock source, and is undertaking a study to access the feasibility of an Iraqi venture. The company is working on the feasibility currently. Iraq is a very interesting future possibility because it has large oil reserves. Associated gas is a by product of oil refining and is clearly feedstock for petrochemicals. As part of a US$17.2 bln (Dh63.18 bln) deal signed late last month to capture as much as 700 million cubic feet of associated gas a day from the giant oilfields in the south, Shell will build a liquefied natural gas plant in Iraq once domestic gas needs are satisfied. Channelling gas into a downstream industry would be another way to utilise the gas surplus.
15-Dec-11 
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