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AMS urges foreign companies not to
conclude oil deals in Kurdistan
9.8.2007
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Khaled Salih, KRG spokesman says political
motivations behind AMS's rejection of Iraqi oil and
gas law
August 9, 2007
Erbil-Hewler, Kurdistan region (Iraq), -- The
official spokesman for the Kurdistan region's
government said that the approved oil and gas law
came within the Iraqi constitution, noting that
political motivations stand behind the Association
of Muslim Scholars’ (AMS) rejection of the law.
"We made this law, related to the region, within the
Iraqi constitution and the Kurdistan region is a
recognized entity and has the right to make its own
laws," Khaled Salih said.
"Political motivations stand behind the AMS’s
rejection of the law," he asserted.
The Sunni AMS urged foreign companies on Tuesday
night not to conclude deals with the government of
Iraq's Kurdistan region in light of the approved oil
and gas law. |
Khaled Salih, The official spokesman for the
Kurdistan region government |
"The parliament of the Kurdistan region approved,
under pressure from its politicians, a law for oil
and gas, allowing the establishment of a national
oil company, which gives it the right to conclude
oil contracts with other companies," the AMS said.
"I do not think that approving the law will have
negative effects, as many companies were waiting for
it and to negotiate with the government to invest in
the oil sector," the spokesman also said.
Iraq's
Kurdistan’s parliament passed
the draft law on oil and gas
concerning the northern Iraqi region on Monday after
more than a month of debate.
The 62-article bill was endorsed after amendments
were made to some articles.
There is also another draft law on oil and gas for
the whole country, which expected to be discussed in
the federal parliament in September after it returns
from recess.
According to current draft of the law under
consideration by the parliament, there should be no
contradiction between the oil law, if passed by the
federal parliament, and that adopted by the regions,
otherwise the law adopted by the Iraqi federal
parliament will take precedence.
The law for the management of oil resources is
considered one of the most controversial issues in
Iraq, and there are differences among political
blocs on the law regarding the equitable
distribution of revenue.
Most of Iraq's known oil reserves are located in the
Shiite-dominated south and Kurdistan region in the
north.
Iraq sits on the world's third-largest oil reserves
and officials have sought, since last year, to
finalize the draft law. The law gives Iraqi and
foreign investors the right to set up refineries and
oil facilities and to invest in them for 50 years,
after which they will belong to the Iraqi
government.
The Kurdistan regional government has signed several
agreements with foreign companies regarding
investments in the oil sector.
VOI
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