First Alaska now Iraq, Shell facing more delays

published 18 September 2012

After announcing delays to its offshore exploration programme in Alaska on Monday, reports on Tuesday suggest Royal Dutch Shell is also struggling with production targets in Iraq.

Mark Carne, an executive at Shell Upstream International is quoted as saying the company could miss its target of 175,000 barrels of oil per day at the Majnoon field in the south of the country.

Shell is waiting for construction of a new pipeline by the Iraqi government to move the crude oil it produces at Majnoon to storage sites. That construction project has been hit by delays, meaning Shell may be forced to claw back costs.