Shell ove? Turkish media has claimed Shell is set to move into the Kurdish gas play
Shell 'poised for Iraq debut'
Shell is poised to become the first major industry player to step back into Iraq after reports that it has signed a deal for a natural gas block in Kurdistan.
A Turkish news agency claimed that the Anglo-Dutch supermajr would work in partnership with TPAO, the Turkish state oil company.
The alliance is also expected to cover the construction of a gas export pipeline that would run alongside an existing pipeline connecting the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan and the Kirkuk oilfield.
A spokesman for the Turkish Energy Ministry said: "An agreement has been reached which has to be ratified by the administration in Baghdad."
However, a Shell spokesman told the Times that the company had not yet signed the contract but acknowledged that the company was in talks about entering Iraq.
He said: “Shell is exploring various opportunities to monetise Iraq’s gas through exports to gas markets around the world.
“We are also exploring ways to support the development of the necessary gas infrastructure to support Iraq’s domestic power generation.
“Discussions undertaken with the Iraqi authorities or other third parties are regarded as confidential.”
The move comes only weeks after Ashti Harwani, the oil minister for the Kurdish region of Iraq, revealed that he wanted to grant up to 10 exploration and production contracts in Kurdistan this year.
The move followed the ratification of the long-awaited Iraqi petroleum law.
The region is thought to hold between 12 million to 45 billion barrels of oil and 100 trillion cubic feet of gas.
At present only five small players, including Turkey's Genel Enerji and Norwegian outfit DNO are active in Kurdistan.
But Statoil and BG Group have expressed an interest in joining the black gold rush.
Paul Mullarkey, the chief business developer of BG, told The Times last month: “We are considering our position, as we do with any region around the world. But it’s far too early to say how the situation will progress.”