IMPORTANT IRAQ NEWS: THE OIL AND GAS LAW HAS BEEN IMPRISONED IN PARLIAMENT FOR 19 YEARS AND IS THREATENED WITH DEPORTATION TO THE NEXT SESSION BY MNT GOAT, 29 JULY

 THE OIL AND GAS LAW HAS BEEN IMPRISONED IN PARLIAMENT FOR 19 YEARS AND IS THREATENED WITH DEPORTATION TO THE NEXT SESSION

The secret lies in the consensus of political forces.

Political disagreements and a lack of consensus since the first session of the House of Representatives made the draft oil and gas law a victim and locked in parliament’s drawers.

In each session, conflicts prevent its approval in its final form, as five parliamentary sessions have passed and the law has not been released until today.

The Parliamentary Oil, Gas and Natural Resources Committee expects that the law will be transferred to the next parliamentary session, despite the visit of the head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Masoud Barzani, early this month, to the capital, Baghdad, and his meeting with political leaders.

A member of the Parliamentary Oil and Gas Committee, Ali Al-Lami, said in an interview with Al-Mada, “One of the reasons for obstructing the approval of the oil and gas law is the continuing disputes between the governments of Baghdad and Erbil “

He added that his committee “sent the law at the beginning of the current parliamentary session to the government, and we met with the Prime Minister, the President of the Republic, and all the heads of blocs and parties, and we explained the importance of this law.”
The member of the House of Representatives points out, “The law is unlikely to be approved during the current session, as it requires study and reading,” suggesting that “the law will be transferred to the next parliamentary session.”

The draft Iraqi oil and gas law regulates Iraq’s vital sector and the management of the country’s oil fields through one national company, with imports being deposited in one account.

Iraq exports an average of 3.3 million barrels of crude oil per day, and black gold constitutes more than 90 percent of the Iraqi treasure’s resources.

For her part, a member of the Parliamentary Oil and Gas Committee, Zainab Al-Moussawi, said in an interview with Al-Mada, “The law is almost complete, and to a high degree, but there are some objections about some points, which are summed up in the delivery of oil imports and exploited and unexploited natural resources to Baghdad.”

Al-Mousawi adds, “The Oil and Gas Law is concerned with regulating the country’s natural resources and exploiting the largest possible amount of undiscovered oil fields.”

She points out that “the law will also contribute to achieving self-sufficiency in oil derivatives and optimal exploitation of wasted natural resources, valued at hundreds of billions of dollars, which contribute to diversifying the state’s financial resources.”
The draft oil and gas law in Iraq available to Parliament stipulates that responsibility for managing the country’s oil fields must be entrusted to and supervised by a national oil company.

In August 2023, the Prime Minister, Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani, confirmed that “the draft oil and gas law is one of the basic and important laws, representing a factor of strength and unity for Iraq, and it has been stuck for years, At a time when the country today is in dire need of its legislation and to benefit from this natural wealth, in every way.” Fields and sectors, as well as the contribution of the legislation to solve many outstanding problems.”

He explained, “There are governorates that have not invested their wealth, which is considered negative for development endeavors in all their paths.”

In February 2022, the Federal Court in Baghdad ordered the region to deliver the oil produced on its lands to Baghdad, and to cancel contracts the region had signed with foreign companies.
The matter reached the point where the judiciary in Baghdad invalidated contracts with many foreign companies, especially American and Canadian companies.