31 August 2006 An Iraqi government committee has been hammering away at contentious issues in a draft hydrocarbon law to regulate the oil and gas industry before it is submitted to the cabinet and parliament for approval. But it risks being blocked by a Sunni minority which also disputed the Iraqi constitution adopted by referendum last year. The committee which has been meeting over the past weeks is made up…
Iraq Seeks New Refineries, Export Pipes
12 September 2006 Iraq is embarking on new projects to add refining capacity and build new pipelines, in a bid to meet domestic fuel needs, insure stable exports from northern oil fields, and raise overall export capacity to 3 million barrels per day within the next five years, according to Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani. Baghdad has revived refinery upgrade plans that were tendered in several packages over the past…
Baghdad, Kurds Quarrel Over Oil Claims
29 September 2006 Officials in Baghdad and the northern Kurdish government locked horns this week over the Kurds’ claimed right to award production sharing contracts to foreign oil companies. The spat prompted a Kurdish threat to break away from Iraq, in a development that bodes ill for the country’s future unity. The quarrel centered on whether the Iraqi oil ministry in Baghdad should have a say in how — and…
Iraqi Parliament Sets Ball Rolling for Autonomous South Region
12 October 2006 The Iraqi parliament on Wednesday approved a controversial law which sets out the procedures for the country’s 18 provinces to hold referendums to merge themselves into larger federal regions with a measure of self government. Although the powers of the autonomous regions would include signing their own oil deals with international oil companies, they would have to wait until 2008 when the new law goes into effect….