BP, PetroChina fund English learning in southern Iraq

BASRA / IraqiNews.com: BP and PetroChina, the international partners in operating the Iraqi Rumaila oil field, signed an agreement with the British Council to launch a program for learning English in southern Iraq. “According to this agreement, the British Council will administer English lessons for around 500 staff members working in the Rumaila field,” said a release issued on Thursday by the British Embassy in Baghdad as received by IraqiNews.com news agency. It explained that the program will be based in the Rumaila field, but will be supervised by experts of the British Council in Baghdad. “The program will be started in Dec. 2010,” the release added. The oil-rich city of Basra lies 590 km south of Baghdad. MH (P)/SR 1