Gas exports from the three fields auctioned off to international companies by Iraq on Wednesday could be possible in the future once domestic needs are satisfied, a senior adviser to the prime minister said.

"There is no doubt it was a very successful auction," Thamir al-Ghadhban, a top adviser to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, told Reuters. "They (the fields) will supply 800 million cu ft per day of gas which we definitely need for power generation and as feedstock for industrial plants."

Asked about possible gas exports, Ghadhban said, "There is no problem with that. At the beginning we need to satisfy the domestic market. I don't see a problem in the future with exporting gas. This will be negotiable and it could be done in the future." – Reuters