In Iraq, the oil company Royal Dutch Shell has completed a multi-billion-dollar natural gas deal with the Iraqi government and opened an office at a secret location in Baghdad. Shell becomes the first foreign oil giant to open an office in Iraq in three decades. Shell was one of the original partners of the Iraq Petroleum Company before Saddam Hussein nationalized Iraq’s oil resources in the 1970s. Iraq’s Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani announced the deal with Shell.

Hussain al-Shahristani: “A delegation from Shell company headed by senior executive Linda Cook has visited us today to sign a deal for a joint venture between the Southern Gas Company and Shell. The deal includes the rehabilitation of gas facilities in Basra and constructing new facilities and also the capture of natural gas released as a byproduct of crude oil extraction in Basra province, which is being burnt now, regrettably”