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Statement by Kurdistan PM Nechirvan
Barzani on Kurdistan Region Oil and Gas Law
6.8.2007
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August 6, 2007
Erbil-Hewler, Kurdistan region (Iraq), --
Today’s action by the Kurdistan National Assembly in
passing the Kurdistan Region Oil Law is a historic
moment that will be remembered for years to come. I
thank the Members of the Assembly, the Ministry of
Justice, and in particular the Minister of Natural
Resources, Dr. Ashti Hawrami for their hard work and
dedication.
We have all waited a long time for this day. Over
the decades, oil in the Kurdistan Region has been
more of a curse than a blessing. The people of the
Kurdistan Region have never benefited from our
natural resources. Successive governments in Iraq
have deliberately left our oil in the ground as an
effort to keep our people poor and to deny our
aspirations for a better way of life.
Today, with the passage of this new Kurdistan Law in
a federal Iraq, we know that those days are gone.
The Constitution of Iraq, supported by more than 99
per cent of voters in the Kurdistan Region, gives us
control over our oil. Together with the Iraq
Constitution, the Kurdistan Region Oil and Gas Law
will be the foundation of our economic development. |
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister
Nechirvan Barzani. |
This Law is therefore good for the people of the
Kurdistan Region. Under this Law, domestic and
international investors can come to the Kurdistan
Region, generate revenue, bring jobs and training
and opportunities to us and our children. The
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), for its part,
will be able to choose the best, most experienced,
the most committed investors for our region who can
bring us prosperity and share in our success.
Together, we will build a bright future for our
people.
The new Oil Law is not only good for people in the
Kurdistan Region -- it is good for all Iraqi people.
Consistent with the Iraq Constitution, this Law
requires us to share revenue with the Federal
Government and other Regions in Iraq just as other
regions of Iraq will share their revenues with us.
We will receive 17% of all revenues from all oil
production in all of Iraq. The process by which
these funds are shared will be open and transparent.
We will be able to depend on this revenue, to know
when it is coming, and to plan our budgets
accordingly. This law is the concrete embodiment of
our commitment to a federal, democratic and
pluralistic Iraq. We are giving much to Iraq, and we
are receiving much in return.
The process of negotiation with Baghdad on the
Hydrocarbon Law and the Revenue Sharing Law has
taken us many months. While progress has been made,
there are still obstacles to be overcome before a
final agreement can be reached. After lengthy
negotiations, and agreement, on the final drafts,
the draft laws were sent to the Shura Council in
Baghdad to be legally formatted. However, the Shura
Council overstepped its mandate and instead made
substantive political changes that contravened the
agreement between the KRG and the Council of
Ministers in Baghdad. This has caused a serious
delay in the process.
If the Iraqi government and parties remain true to
their word, as we have here, then the dreams of
prosperity and stability that have guided us for
years can come true. We are leading the way, through
the passage of this Law, and showing others in Iraq
and the international community that we can
cooperate, we can develop, and we can succeed.
We in Kurdistan must lead from the front. We must
demonstrate by our actions, not just words, that we
are committed to bringing wealth, fairness,
transparency, and accountability to Iraq. We must
show the rest of Iraq what can be achieved with hard
work, pragmatism, and strong, businesslike ethics.
This is a great and historic day for the people of
the Kurdistan Region and I congratulate the
Kurdistan National Assembly on its excellent work.
Our bright future lies before us thanks to your
efforts.
Ashti Hawrami: Kurdistan Region Oil and Gas Law
Today is a proud day for the people of the Kurdistan
Region. This is a historic moment. In years to come,
we will look back and see the passage of this law as
a turning point in the fortunes of our Region. The
law is the result of a high level of cooperation
between the Ministry of Natural Resources and many
other Government branches, in particular the
Ministry of Justice, and the Kurdistan Parliament’s
Legal Committee and Finance-Economic Committee. This
Law is a true expression of the diverse but unified
aspirations of the people of the Kurdistan Region.
With this Law, we will be able to cooperate as equal
partners, with the rest of Iraq. We will also have a
clear, transparent legal structure for our
negotiations with investors: our mutual rights and
responsibilities will be clearly established,
consistent with the very highest international
standards. Under the Constitution of Iraq, oil and
gas management is primarily a Regional right, and
our success depends upon us exercising that right.
This Law of the Kurdistan Region is the embodiment
of that right.
This Law is based upon the rights afforded to
Regions by the Iraq Constitution and is an
expression of federalism. The rights of the
Kurdistan Region established by this Law, in the
name of the Iraq Constitution, are exactly the same
as the rights of regions in all successful petroleum
producing federations around the world. Those
federations include the United Arab Emirates, Canada
and Australia. In other words, we are in step with
world’s best practice. In establishing control of
our oil resources, we proudly join the community of
cooperative federations around the world.
Already many citizens of the Region have seen the
benefits of international investment in our Region.
This is just the beginning. We must be careful and
wise, but we must also be ambitious. We are well
positioned to help those in the rest of Iraq, and
our other neighbors, share in this success. With the
Law passed, the Kurdistan Regional Government will
proceed with the promotion of investment
opportunities in the Region.
I also echo the words of the Prime Minister in
saying that, with the passage of this Law, the
Kurdistan Regional Government will redouble its
efforts to ensure that the Federal Revenue Sharing
Law and the Federal Hydrocarbon Law proceed through
the federal parliament. The drafts of those two
Federal Laws were agreed in February and June this
year: there is no reason now for them to be delayed,
and we must set aside recent unauthorized
interventions. These agreed draft Federal Laws are
consistent with the Iraq Constitution, and
consistent with this Kurdistan Law. Those two
Federal laws, like this Kurdistan Oil and Gas Law,
will allow us to voluntarily cooperate with the rest
of Iraq on oil management and revenue sharing and
will ensure just and equitable distribution of
revenue to all the peoples of Iraq.
krg org
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