TALABANI’S PARTY: THE OIL AND GAS LAW IS OFF THE AGENDA FOR THE CURRENT SESSION, DESPITE THE GOVERNMENT’S PROMISES.
A member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), Burhan Sheikh Raouf, confirmed on Thursday that the oil and gas law will not be passed anytime soon, as the current parliamentary term is approaching its end, despite the urgent need to regulate this vital issue.
Raouf told Al-Maalouma, “The current session of Parliament is in its final days, and it is unlikely that the oil and gas law will be passed during the remaining period, even though the draft law has been in existence for nearly twenty years.
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He added that “the current government, headed by Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, had promised to pass the law within the first six months of its formation, but this did not happen due to ongoing disagreements and the failure to reach a final political consensus on it.”
He pointed out that “failure to pass the law in this session will postpone the resolution of the oil and gas issue again, despite its importance in resolving the outstanding issues between Baghdad and Erbil, regulating the extraction and export process, and ensuring a fair distribution of revenues.”
