Oil And Gas Law Stuck In Parliament's Drawers, 23 JULY

 Iraq   08:07 - 2024-07-23   Political differences and the absence of consensus since the first session of the House of Representatives have kept the draft oil and gas law stuck in the parliament’s drawers.

In each session, conflicts have prevented its approval in its final form. Five parliamentary sessions have passed and the law has not been released to this day.

The parliamentary Oil, Gas and Natural Resources Committee expects the law to be postponed to the next parliamentary session due to ongoing disagreements.

Ali Al-Lami, a member of the parliamentary Oil and Gas Committee, says that one of the reasons for obstructing the approval of the Oil and Gas Law is the ongoing disagreements between the governments of Baghdad and Erbil.

He adds that his committee sent the law to the government at the beginning of the current parliamentary session, but we do not expect it to be approved during the current session, as it requires study and reading, suggesting that the law will be postponed to the next parliamentary session.

For her part, Zainab Al-Moussawi, a member of the parliamentary oil and gas committee, says that the law is almost complete, and to a high degree, but there are some objections regarding some points, which are summarized in the delivery of oil revenues and exploited and unexploited natural resources to Baghdad.

Al-Moussawi adds that the oil and gas law is concerned with organizing 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, estimated at hundreds of billions of dollars, which contribute to diversifying the state's financial resources.

The draft of the oil and gas law in Iraq available to parliament stipulates that the responsibility for managing the country's oil fields should be entrusted to a national oil company.

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani had previously confirmed that the draft oil and gas law is one of the basic and important laws, and represents a factor of strength and unity for Iraq. It has been pending for years, at a time when the country is in dire need of its legislation and to benefit from this natural wealth in all fields and sectors, in addition to the contribution of the legislation of the law in solving many of the outstanding problems.

He explained that there are governorates that have not invested their wealth, which is a negative thing for development efforts in all their paths.  https://kirkuktv.net/AR/Details/21690