Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani said that under the agreement Egyptian oil companies will take part in exploration, drilling wells, developing fields, and building plant such as refineries and pipelines.
“There is still a long way to go for Iraq to develop its energy sector and Iraq needs to co-operate with a huge number of companies” he told a joint press conference with his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Fahmy.
“We encourage Egyptian companies to come and have a presence on Iraqi soil and we are ready to co-operate in all fields,” Mr al-Shahristani said.
He went on to say that the two sides also discussed linking Iraq to the proposed Arab gas pipeline to export surplus gas to both Arab countries and Europe. The pipeline route originates in Egypt and runs through Jordan and Syria. It will eventually be connected to the Nabucco pipeline linking Turkey to central Europe.