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Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government
drafts its own oil policy
25.10.2006 |
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Erbil, Kurdistan
Region (Iraq) ,October 25 , -- Iraq's Kurdistan
Regional Government (KRG) said on Wednesday it has
drafted its own oil policy and a partnership
agreement with oil firms, adding it has also
submitted a proposal regarding a federal oil law to
the central government.
A number of the region's officials expected that the
draft would be soon presented to Iraqi Kurdistan
National Assembly and necessary approvals would be
granted to allow foreign firms to invest in the
region.
On his part, Kurdistan's Natural Resources Minister
Ashti Hawrami issued four press releases regarding
Petroleum Act of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq,
management of oil revenues and oil in Kirkuk.
During the last two months, Hawrami participated in
the meetings of the national energy committee whose
deliberations have not achieved other than general
regulations for dividing oil revenues.
Meanwhile, the drafted act was discussed at length
during an economic forum organized by an Iraqi
development center.
Iraqi oil experts noted that the act stressed the
necessity of decentralization and federalism between
Iraq (The Arab part of Iraq) and Kurdistan
semi-autonomous Region, but was directed toward a
strong centralization within the region itself.
Also, the experts pointed out that the act was
issued before the federal oil law that was supposed
to be the basis for all federal regional bylaws.
They also added that the act stipulated that oil in
Kurdistan was the property of its people which
contradicted Article 108 of Iraq's constitution that
said "Oil and gas are the ownership of all the
people of Iraq in all the regions and governorates."
In a press statement, KRG Premier Nechirvan Idris
Barzani hoped the ongoing disagreement over oil
issues with Baghdad would be settled by end of Eid.
Last month, KRG threatened to part from Iraq if the
central government continued demanding a role in
developing oil resources in Kurdistan.
So far, KRG signed four oil exploration and
excavation accords with Norwegian, Canadian and
Turkish firms.
The government hoped to commence production by 2007
with a total capacity of 40,000 barrels-per-day
(bpd) that would gradually increase to 200,000 bpd
by 2008.
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