The Iraqi oil ministry struck a deal in July with Shell and Japan's Mitsubishi Corp. (8058.TO, MSBHY) to develop gas production in southern Iraq. To become valid the deal needs approval from the Baghdad government.
"It was agreed upon by the energy committee and was sent to the cabinet for approval," Abdul Kareem Luaiby told Dow Jones Newswires on the sidelines of an Iraqi energy meeting in Amman, Jordan. The committee is chaired by the deputy prime minister for energy affairs, Hussein al-Shahristani, and its members include the ministers of oil, electricity and finance.
Luaiby declined to say when exactly the cabinet would approve the deal. The agreement must first be examined by the cabinet's legal and specialized offices, he said......Read the entire article.
