USD17 BILLION BASRAH GAS PROJECT REACHES OPERATIONAL PHASE

The USD17 billion Basrah Gas Project, the world’s largest gas flares reduction project and a first-in-country public-private-partnership of this scale (to date) has reached operational phase.Vinson & Elkins LLP (V&E) and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP are acting as joint counsel to the Ministry of Oil of the Republic of Iraq in connection with the Project, a 25-year joint venture between South Gas Company (a Ministry of Oil affiliate) and affiliates of Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Mitsubishi Corporation. The 25-year project will develop midstream and downstream gas infrastructure in order to gather and process the natural gas that is produced at Rumaila, West Qurna-1 and Zubair, three giant oil fields near Basrah, in the southern part of Iraq. Currently, a large amount of natural gas is being flared due to a lack of processing capacity, resulting in significant environmental damage and economic waste. Substantial reduction of this flaring will provide reliable domestic electricity generation and promote economic and industrial development. 

The V&E team includes partners Christopher Strong and Ahmed el-Gaili, and associate Brett Thornton. The Cleary Gottlieb team includes partners Andrew Bernstein and Gamal Abouali and associate Nawal Lachguar.