Shell exits Majnoon: when the terms get tough, the tough get going

Shell has decided to exit the super-giant Majnoon field in Iraq. Majnoon had scope to become a core asset for Shell – its large scale and low-cost is fundamentally attractive to build a long-term business lower down the cost curve. Iraq's recent history of improving fiscal terms for the harsh technical service contract offered some optimism. But the very poor fiscal terms and misalignment over the field development plan led to Shell's exit from the project.