Kudremukh, Khomeini, Contractors and Consultants K V Subrahmanyam WHEN, in the late sixties, the Mar- cona Corporation was faced with the possibility of a take-over by the Peruvian government of its iron ore mining facilities, it began looking out for other opportunities for exploiting its 'Marconaflow' technology of transporting, iron ore as slurry by pipeline to sea-ports, pumping in into ships' holds after thickening, transporting it by sea, diluting it for pumping back un to land, rethickening and pelletis- ing it with locally available gas. This period was witnessing a boom in international trade in iron ore and a wWld glut of oil with its well-head cast at 15 cents a barrel, the associated gas being flared in most of the OPEC countries. In the circumstances, this natural gas was treated as a 'free good' and plans were set afoot for its use in power generation and sponge iron production. This pattern of use of a precious, non-renewable fast-depleting natural resource might have been justified when the necessary technology for its use as feed-stock for chemical industry was not available. Today use of natural gas in such manner in any country with a rational energy policy ought to be "unthinkable. However, in the Middle Eastern Sheikhdoms and in Shah's Iran, natural gas continue*! to be treated as a 'Free good'.