Kurds will vote against oil law

While Baghdad warns regional governments not to sign oil and gas contracts, the Kurds say they will vote against the draft oil law.

The Kurdistan Regional Government, which agreed to the draft hydrocarbons law in February, says changes made to certain portions of the law are a threat to the oil-rich, semi-autonomous and largely violence-free region.
The KRG, which was targeted by Saddam Hussein and deprived of development, including in its oil sector, fears a strong central government role in the oil sector. The central government, however, backed by Sunnis and most Shiites, says too strong a regional role will hurt the splintered country.

The KRG has signed a handful of exploration and development contracts with foreign firms. It claims the right to do so under the 2005 constitution’s language, an interpretation the central government disputes.

Last week Baghdad sent a warning shot out that all oil and gas deals were to be signed in the capital of the country, not regions, al-Jazeera reports.

The Kurds and central government haven’t reached a deal on two aspects of the law: the percentage and mechanism for sharing the oil revenue, and which of the 116 billion barrels of reserves will be under regional control and which under the purview of the regions and governorates.

UPI