The Iraqi government said on Sunday that it will open the door for international energy companies to build a petrochemicals plant in the southern oil hub of Basra after Shell Oil Company withdrew from the project.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani chaired a cabinet meeting to discuss the completion of the Nebras Petrochemical Project and issued directives to the Ministry of Industry and Minerals to complete the settlement with Shell, which quit the petrochemical project, according to a statement from the prime minister’s media office.
Al-Sudani also directed the oil ministry to submit a report about the international companies wishing to implement the project according to the specifications and standards required for the project facilities, the statement said.
In 2015, Shell signed an initial agreement with Iraq to build a petrochemical complex, which includes a refinery with a capacity of 300,000 barrels per day and a huge petrochemical plant that relies on exploiting surplus natural gas to manufacture various petrochemical products, with a planned annual production capacity of about 2 million tons.
