25 July 2005 As an Aug.15 deadline approaches for agreeing on a final draft of Iraq’s new constitution, Iraqi officials say the document should be ready for debate by a special committee next week, to be followed by the National Assembly. However, agreement remains elusive on how ownership and management of Iraq’s vast oil resources should be formulated in the draft constitution, a member of the constitutional drafting committee told…
Author: Ruba Husari
IOF Editor
Iraq Constitution Vague on Key Oil Issues
24 August 2005 Iraq’s new draft constitution, which is awaiting a final vote by the National Assembly, offers significant power to the country’s many regions in determining how to manage Iraq’s oil wealth. The draft copy of the constitution, however, remains vague on major issues regarding oil policy and future investments, opening the way to different interpretations and possibly disputes which could delay the opening up of Iraq to international…
Iraq’s Production, Export Status Seen Unchanged Until Late 2006
21 September 2005 Iraq is unlikely to see any major change in its current 2.2 million barrels per day of production capacity or in the paralysis of its northern export route until late 2006 or early 2007 at the earliest, according to former Oil Minister Thamer al-Ghadban. Upstream progress will only come with the implementation of recently awarded contracts and others under consideration, he told International Oil Daily Tuesday on…
Iraq Vote Carries Seeds For Oil Conflict
14 October 2005 Iraqis are set to vote Saturday on a new draft constitution intended to usher in a new era, which should see the country edge closer toward the establishment of state institutions and adoption of new laws, including in the oil sector. However, all this will do little to unite a divided country — and it could even instigate new conflict over the distribution of oil wealth, analysts…