Monday, February 26, 2007
Confusion between Kurds and Oil Ministry on draft oil law
Oil
(The Guardian) The Oil Ministry cast doubt Sunday on statements indicating the Kurds had agreed to support a draft oil law that would divide revenues among all Iraqi factions and meet a key U.S. benchmark in Iraq. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government had promised to enact a new oil law by the end of 2006 but missed the deadline due to objections from the Kurds.
Many of Iraq's vast oil reserves can be found in the Kurdish north and the Shiite south, and the Kurds wanted a greater role in awarding contracts and administering the revenues. Massoud Barzani, president of the self-governing Kurdish administration in the north, said Saturday that he and President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, had discussed the latest draft law by telephone with al-Maliki and "the results were good.''
Barzani made the comments in a joint press conference with Talabani after a meeting with U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad in the northern Kurdish city of Sulaimaniyah. "We reached a final agreement,'' Barzani said, without elaborating. "We accept the draft.'' An Oil Ministry spokesman, however, stressed that the draft law still needed to be discussed at the Cabinet level. "Today, we got confirmation that Barzani said that they support the draft law but he mentioned nothing about agreeing to it,'' ministry spokesman Assem Jihad said. "The discussions and the negotiations are still ongoing.''
It was unclear if Barzani was saying he supported the idea of a law or the draft as currently worded. Kurdish officials could not be reached for clarification.
Barzani made the comments in a joint press conference with Talabani after a meeting with U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad in the northern Kurdish city of Sulaimaniyah. "We reached a final agreement,'' Barzani said, without elaborating. "We accept the draft.'' An Oil Ministry spokesman, however, stressed that the draft law still needed to be discussed at the Cabinet level. "Today, we got confirmation that Barzani said that they support the draft law but he mentioned nothing about agreeing to it,'' ministry spokesman Assem Jihad said. "The discussions and the negotiations are still ongoing.''
It was unclear if Barzani was saying he supported the idea of a law or the draft as currently worded. Kurdish officials could not be reached for clarification.
Labels: draft oil law, Kurdistan, Massoud Barzani, Oil Ministry
