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Taking the lead on Iraqi oil
7.10.2007
By Nechirvan Barzani
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October
7, 2007
This August, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)
of Iraq passed an oil and gas law to regulate the
oil sector in our region. So far, we have signed
eight production-sharing contracts with
international oil and gas companies. We expect to
sign another two in the near future.
We were deeply disappointed by the negative reaction
of several officials in Baghdad to these contracts.
In the last several months it has become clear to us
that many in the Iraqi Oil Ministry are locked in a
time warp dating back to the regime of Saddam
Hussein, in which Baghdad holds tight control of all
the resources of Iraq and uses these resources to
create obeisance and loyalty to the centre.
The KRG production sharing contracts are fully
consistent with the Iraqi Constitution, which gives
the regions of Iraq substantial control over natural
resources. The contracts are also fully consistent
with the draft Iraqi oil law that was agreed to this
March, but has yet to be passed by the Iraqi
National Assembly. The Kurdistan region's oil law,
passed in August by our parliament, is 100% faithful
to the agreed draft of the Iraqi law, and includes
provisions for the KRG to share its oil revenue with
the rest of Iraq in the same 83%-17% ratio.
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Nechirvan Barzani, Prime
Minister of Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) |
If we had intended
to "go it alone," why would we ever consider passing
a law which requires us to give 83% of the revenues
to the rest of Iraq? We waited five months for the
Iraqi Assembly to pass the agreed draft - they have
not acted, and there is no sign that they will act
anytime soon. We decided to "lead from the front."
The Bush administration and Congress have been
pressing the government in Baghdad to move ahead on
a fair, transparent and efficient oil law. So have
we. Neither of us have had any success. Thus, we
have chosen to pass in our own assembly the very
same law that was agreed to by all parties in March
of this year.
We hope our friends and supporters in the US will
understand that this is not an attempt to usurp the
nation's oil resources, but rather our best effort
to move the process forward, leading by example to
make these valuable resources work for the people of
Iraq. The resources that can ease the suffering of
the people of Iraq lie beneath our feet.
The Kurdistan Region has achieved great things since
the liberation of 2003. We are proud to be described
as the model for the rest of Iraq: tolerant,
democratic, peaceful and working toward economic
prosperity. We have been given a chance to build a
bright future after decades of oppression and
violence. Our political system, our judicial system,
our physical infrastructure and our educational
system all are in great need of modernisation, but
we will persevere with the help of our friends and
by the fruits of our labour.
In 2003, we chose voluntarily and openly to remain
part of Iraq, and we will continue to do so. But
does this mean that we have to be held back by the
chaos and bloodshed that dominate the rest of the
country? Must we sit idly by, waiting for Iraqi
politicians to waste months debating oil legislation
that has already been agreed upon by the major
parties?
We have tried our best to be a loyal ally of the US.
We have supported nearly every major initiative and
decision that the US has sought in Iraq - sometimes
contrary to what we consider to be in our best
interests. We will continue to do so because we
believe that there is no alternative to maintaining
the US presence in Iraq. We want the US to remain,
and we need American help. In return for our loyalty
we ask understanding. We are not a "rogue province"
seeking an early escape from the chaos that has
become Iraq. We are a people and a region that have
seen nothing but death, destruction and deprivation
from Baghdad over the decades. Does it surprise
anyone that we harbour deep suspicions about
becoming reliant on the capital that has brought us
such misery for so many years?
In the past, oil in the Kurdistan Region has been
more of a curse than a blessing. The people have
never benefited from our natural resources.
Successive governments in Iraq have deliberately
left our oil in the ground in an effort to keep our
people poor and to deny our aspirations for a better
way of life. Now, after so much suffering, we have a
chance to turn this curse into a blessing. And we
are asked to wait while the Iraqi parliament takes
its vacation, and then considers new ways to manage
our resources.
The answer is found in the principles of the Iraqi
Constitution, the US Constitution and many others
around the world -federalism. This is not just a
concept to us. Federalism means that we have the
liberty to develop our resources under the umbrella,
but not the central control, of Iraq. It means that
as 17% of the population we will receive 17% of the
wealth, and that we will accordingly share 83% of
our wealth with the rest of the population.
We want peace and prosperity for the rest of Iraq as
well. We will contribute our fair share and more to
that goal. But we cannot be asked to sit by and
postpone our aspirations for prosperity in pursuit
of a vision of a centralised Iraq that long ago
passed from reality. We are trying to lead by
example in all that we do. Our oil law, and the
contracts we have signed, are nothing more than
that.
Nechirvan Barzani is the prime minister of the
Kurdistan Regional Government in 'northern Iraq'.
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