29 September 2006 It will be 2008, at the earliest, before Iraq’s southern provinces unite to form the giant oil-rich federal region that some Iraqi groups are calling for. That’s the deal reached this week by Shiite and Sunni lawmakers which, for now at least, averts further ethnic and religious strife over a Shiite-backed law outlining the mechanisms whereby Iraq’s provinces can form autonomous regions. But the arrangement, brokered by…
Tag: kurds
Iraqi Oil Law Still Awaits Kurds’ Approval
28 June 2007 Iraq’s draft petroleum law is still awaiting the go-ahead from Kurdish officials following changes to the text introduced by the state Shura Council, a panel of judges tasked with reviewing the legal language of the draft, a senior Iraqi government official said Wednesday. “We have sent the draft to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and we are waiting for their comments on the changes in the language…
Iraqi Panel Hammers Away at Draft Oil Law
31 August 2006 An Iraqi government committee has been hammering away at contentious issues in a draft hydrocarbon law to regulate the oil and gas industry before it is submitted to the cabinet and parliament for approval. But it risks being blocked by a Sunni minority which also disputed the Iraqi constitution adopted by referendum last year. The committee which has been meeting over the past weeks is made up…
Baghdad, Kurds Quarrel Over Oil Claims
29 September 2006 Officials in Baghdad and the northern Kurdish government locked horns this week over the Kurds’ claimed right to award production sharing contracts to foreign oil companies. The spat prompted a Kurdish threat to break away from Iraq, in a development that bodes ill for the country’s future unity. The quarrel centered on whether the Iraqi oil ministry in Baghdad should have a say in how — and…