Iraqi Oil Law

It appears that Maliki's government is being pressured by the US to pass an oil law as soon as possible, and many Iraqis are concerned that such a law should not be passed until the constitution is amended.  

Iraqi Oil Revenue Sharing Bill Approved by Cabinet

Will the Iraqi Parliament Approve the Controversial Legislation?

Posted 2 hr. 52 min. ago

Photo by Toby Melville/AFP.

An Iraqi woman climbs over an oil pipe in Basra Province in 2005. The draft oil law cleared a major hurdle today.

The Iraqi cabinet has approved the draft oil law, Reuters reports.

The important legislation would regulate the central sector of the Iraqi economy, including the sharing of revenues between Iraq's regions and ethnic groups, the right to sign and enforce contracts with foreign companies, and the status of the Iraqi National Oil Company (INOC).

The law now goes before the Iraqi Parliament for approval. Iraqi officials have committed to a May 2007 deadline for enacting the bill, Iraqi VP Barham Salih told Reuters.

The law, if passed, would allow contracts brokered in the Kurdish areas with international firms to remain in force, subject to their review and compliance with the new law.

INOC would also be restructured as an independent holding company, with "affiliated regional operating companies," under a newly establised "Federal Council" to coordinate the regional oil companies.

Iraq has experienced intense US pressure to pass the controversial law.