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Sharing petroleum resources only path to
Iraqi unity and stability
26.3.2007
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March 26, 2007
London, UK , – At a seminar in London on
Thursday, experts on Iraq and the oil industry
discussed Iraq’s draft federal oil and revenue
sharing laws. One of the speakers, Dr Ashti Hawrami,
the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) natural
resources minister, said, “sharing Iraq’s oil and
gas revenues fairly and transparently is the only
path to a united and stable Iraq”.
Dr. Hawrami, who sits on the Iraqi committee that is
drafting the federal oil and gas law, told
participants that while the main points of the draft
have been completed and agreed, some annexes and
model contracts are still being decided. He said,
“The law reiterates that the KRG is responsible for
awarding contracts in its area. It also includes
strong checks and balances to ensure that contracts
follow guidelines.” |
Speakers
at the seminar. Photo: KRG |
The drafting committee in Baghdad decided that a
federal oil and gas council will be established that
can review newly signed contracts, to make sure that
they meet guidelines. The council can ask an
independent panel of experts to study the contracts
and if the panel finds that a contract seriously
deviates from the guidelines, the contract has to be
modified.
Dr. Hawrami added, “Contradictory to what some
reports have said, no one has told us Iraqis what to
put in the law. Iraqis alone have been deciding it.
The only pressure put on us has been to move it
forward and complete it.”
Hamid Dhiya Jafar, an Iraqi national who is chairman
and CEO of Crescent Petroleum and executive chairman
of Dana Gas, said “Iraq’s oil sector needs massive
investment because it has been stuck in a time warp
since the 1970s and needs to modernise. When
countries like India and Pakistan are privatising to
modernise the industry, we need to recognise that
Iraq has to do the same.
He added, “Iraq now has a unique opportunity to
design the right regulatory framework.” Mr. Jafar
also said that the government should encourage a
healthy Iraqi private sector petroleum industry.
Peter Galbraith, Former U.S. State Department
Official and United Nations director for the East
Timorese transitional government, said that the
Iraqi constitution gives regions such as Kurdistan
considerable powers. He said, “In terms of its
constitutional rights, the KRG is making major
concessions in the draft federal oil law”.
About 140 analysts, journalists, diplomats and oil
company representatives attended the seminar, which
was chaired by KRG Spokesman Dr. Khaled Salih.
krg org
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