[QODLink]
Middle East
Draft Iraq oil law makes headway
Parliament to debate draft after agreement between government and Kurdish authority.
Last Modified: 21 Jun 2007 19:00 GMT
Iraq sits on the world's third-largest oil reserves [AP]

A draft oil law has been submitted to Iraq's parliament after the government and the Iraqi Kurdistan regional authority resolved differences on the sharing of the country's oil reserves, officials have said.

 

"A deal has been reached and the draft has been delivered to parliament to be discussed... in the coming days. An agreement has been reached covering all disputes," Asim Jihad said.

 

An official in the Kurdish regional government said an agreement had been made, but did not give further details.

Oil wealth sharing

 

The draft oil law is crucial in regulating how wealth from Iraq's huge oil reserves will be distributed between sectarian and ethnic groups.

 

The bill was approved by the cabinet in February but many Kurds opposed it.

 

Oil wealth

Hoda Abdel Hamid reports from Iraq's Kurdish region

Particular objections were raised to parts of the draft that would see oil fields being taken from regional governments to be placed under a new state oil company.

 

Jihad declined to say when the agreement had been reached, adding parliament could make changes to the draft.

 

Most of Iraq's proven oil reserves are located in the Shia-dominated south and the Kurdish north.

 

Iraq sits on the world's third-largest oil reserves and officials have sought since last year to finalise the draft law.

 

Investment boost

 

The draft law is vital for Iraq to attract foreign investment to boost its oil output and rebuild its economy.

 

Recent disputes came after Iraq’s oil ministry warned regions in late April against signing contracts until the law was passed.

 

The Kurdistan regional government has signed several agreements with foreign companies.

 

In recent months, Washington has sent several officials to press Nuri al-Maliki, prime minister of Iraq's Shia-led government, to speed up the passage of laws aimed at increasing the participation of Sunni Arabs in the political process.

Source:
Agencies
Topics in this article
Country
Featured on Al Jazeera
More and more people in the US are living in poverty - yet Mitt Romney's policies would further shred the safety net.
As the anniversary of the uprising nears, the country's rulers are denying foreigners entry and hiring PR firms.
Under Obama, six whistleblowers have been charged under the World War I-era Espionage Act.
Journalist who recently spent time with fighters says there is no central leadership to the armed resistance.
<  > 
join our mailing list

Enter Zip Code
Go