The oil and gas law will be postponed to the next legislative year.. Representative: We need 6 months, 17 OCT

 The oil and gas law will be postponed to the next legislative year.. Representative: We need 6 months, 17 OCT

The Committee for Oil, Gas, and Natural Resources has announced that it needs six more months to create a draft oil and gas law that will be agreeable to all parties involved. The committee also mentioned that the Kurdistan Regional Government has presented a vision for the Oil and Gas Law to the Ministry of Oil. This announcement was made on Tuesday, October 17th, 2023.

According to Representative Ali Shaddad, who heads the Legislation Committee in the Oil, Gas and Natural Resources Committee, this committee is a vital subcommittee within the parliamentary oil and gas committee. Its main focus is on legislation and laws related to the oil and gas sector. In an interview with Al-Sumaria News, he emphasized the importance of the committee’s role in shaping the legal framework for this critical industry.

In today’s meeting, the Oil Ministry hosted the Director General of the Legal Department and a group of jurists to discuss amendments to the laws in the oil sector. Seven laws related to the oil and gas sector were discussed, with a major focus on the National Oil Company Law. Shaddad, who was present at the meeting, explained that some provisions of the law had been canceled, leading many to believe that the law had been repealed, but the formation of the National Oil Company had only been stopped. To revive the law, a set of amendments is required, which is in line with the directives of the federal government to the Oil Ministry.

During a recent interview, Shaddad, an official from the Iraqi Oil Ministry, spoke about the importance of the oil and gas law in the country. He highlighted that a total of 6 meetings have taken place, with 3 of them being with the committee formed by the regional government, and the other 3 with the governors and representatives of the oil-producing governorates. The ministry has developed a preliminary draft that incorporates ideas from both the Kurdish side and the oil-producing provinces. However, repeated meetings will be required to reach a common vision on the oil and gas law. Shaddad also mentioned that council elections may cause a delay in progress for the next two months.

During a recent meeting, it was discussed that it would take about 6 months to create a draft of an oil and gas law that all parties can agree on for the Iraqi provinces. The regional government committee presented their own vision of the law to the Oil Ministry, which includes the specific texts and standards they would like to see included.

According to his statement, the project’s first reading is expected to take place during the third legislative year. The Oil Ministry has been urged to reach a unified vision and draft. The speaker emphasized that only one draft will be accepted. He also acknowledged that there could be fatigue and anger among some parties, but stressed that Iraq needs this law.

During the committee meeting, he emphasized the importance of some of the new projects under discussion, including the draft carbon footprint law and the draft oil-agricultural coexistence law. He also mentioned that a representative from some companies in the oil and gas sector will be included in the Legislation Committee of the Parliamentary Oil and Gas Committee.

The Parliamentary Oil and Gas Committee met with its subcommittee to address legal amendments, including the Oil and Gas Law and the National Oil Company Law, according to Al-Sumaria’s correspondent.