27 March 2007 The Iraqi government decided to renegotiate an old production sharing contract which had been signed by China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) to develop the 90,000 barrel per day Al-Ahdab oil field with the former Iraqi regime “for political and legal reasons” rather than retender, a senior Iraqi government official told International Oil Daily late last week. CNPC officials traveled to Baghdad earlier this month for a first…
Kurdish-Iraqi Oil Minister Spat Escalates
1 May 2007 A war of words between Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani and Kurdish Energy Minister Ashti Hawrami over who has the authority to sign contracts with foreign companies, and over the extent of the proposed new Iraqi national oil company’s control over the country’s oil fields, is threatening to derail the draft oil law approved by the Iraqi cabinet in February. Al-Shahristani last week warned foreign companies that…
Iraqi Oil Law Still Awaits Kurds’ Approval
28 June 2007 Iraq’s draft petroleum law is still awaiting the go-ahead from Kurdish officials following changes to the text introduced by the state Shura Council, a panel of judges tasked with reviewing the legal language of the draft, a senior Iraqi government official said Wednesday. “We have sent the draft to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and we are waiting for their comments on the changes in the language…
Iraqi Parties Revive Older Hydrocarbon Law
5 September 2007 The Iraqi cabinet has withdrawn a draft hydrocarbon law it sent to parliament in July after it failed to muster enough support from lawmakers to approve it. The cabinet has instead reverted to an older version endorsed by the council of ministers in February which it hopes will be backed by five parties when it’s put to a vote before the end of the year, a senior…