Minister envisions boom in Iraqi oil industry

KARBALA / IraqiNews.com: Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahrestani on Wednesday said that Iraq will enjoy a boom in the oil industry in the future, adding that his ministry has become self-sufficient and independent of the general budget. “New horizons will be opened with the Arab and European worlds,” Shahrestani said in a lecture he gave at Karbala University on the horizons of Iraqi oil industry. Three “discovered” oilfields in the provinces of Karbala, Najaf and Babel have been referred to specialized international companies, the minister noted, providing no information about when the fields were discovered. The holy Shiite city of Karbala lies 110 southwest of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. SS (P)/SR 1