Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Iraqi parliament demands Kuwait cancels debts from former regime
Finance
(Iraq Directory) - Vice-Chairman of the Investment Committee in the Iraqi Parliament demanded the Kuwaiti government cancel Iraq debts resulting from policies of the previous government, and confirmed Iraq's need for nearly $200 billion to restore economic infrastructure such as asphalt, petrochemical, cement and other plants.
Abdul Hadi Hassani said, "We call on the Kuwaiti government to cancel its debt on Iraq because it is now investing the oil fields of southern Rumaila wells which are located 94% on Iraqi territory and 6% on Kuwaiti territory." [Ed. Note: this was one of Saddam's excuses for invading Kuwait.]
He pointed out, "Kuwaiti oil production for the southern Rumaila fields is up to 8,500 barrels of oil per day, while Kuwaiti production amounts to 350,000 barrels a day."Hassani explained, "the Kuwaiti side is digging wells for horizontal extraction of oil from Iraqi territory, in particular in the Rumaila oilfields overlapping southern Iraq and northern Kuwait, making it easy to draw oil to the adjacent Kuwaiti wells."
He added, "Shortly Iraq's total debt will fall after the 80% cancellation commitments at the recent Sharm el-Sheikh conference." Hasani said, "Iraqi people and the current government are not responsible for the [odious] debts resulting from the arms purchases of the former regime, used to build military bases and arsenals that burdened and indebted the country." .
He called on Arab countries to cancel these debts and added, "We don't count on Egypt to cancel Iraqi debt because it is not a rich capitalist country, rather a poor one living on external assistance provided by states like the United States of America."
Abdul Hadi Hassani said, "We call on the Kuwaiti government to cancel its debt on Iraq because it is now investing the oil fields of southern Rumaila wells which are located 94% on Iraqi territory and 6% on Kuwaiti territory." [Ed. Note: this was one of Saddam's excuses for invading Kuwait.]
He pointed out, "Kuwaiti oil production for the southern Rumaila fields is up to 8,500 barrels of oil per day, while Kuwaiti production amounts to 350,000 barrels a day."Hassani explained, "the Kuwaiti side is digging wells for horizontal extraction of oil from Iraqi territory, in particular in the Rumaila oilfields overlapping southern Iraq and northern Kuwait, making it easy to draw oil to the adjacent Kuwaiti wells."
He added, "Shortly Iraq's total debt will fall after the 80% cancellation commitments at the recent Sharm el-Sheikh conference." Hasani said, "Iraqi people and the current government are not responsible for the [odious] debts resulting from the arms purchases of the former regime, used to build military bases and arsenals that burdened and indebted the country." .
He called on Arab countries to cancel these debts and added, "We don't count on Egypt to cancel Iraqi debt because it is not a rich capitalist country, rather a poor one living on external assistance provided by states like the United States of America."
Labels: Abdul Hadi Hassani, debt, Kuwait, oil production, Rumaila field
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Why Iraqis cannot agree on an oil law
Oil
Lionel Beehner from the Council on Foreign Relations discusses what the oil law is about, the difficulty of drafting the oil law, the main points of contention, how much oil Iraq has, why oil production has stalled and how long it will take for the draft oil law to pass.
Disagreements over oil and revenue sharing threaten to unravel hopes for a political breakthrough and national reconciliation in Iraq. A draft oil law has drawn criticisms from Iraq’s Sunnis, who prefer a stronger role for the central government, and from Kurds, who prefer a stronger role for the regional authorities. The majority Shiites have sought to mollify the Sunnis by keeping control of Iraq’s oil sector in Baghdad, not the provinces. The role of outside investors, as well as the classification of old versus new oil fields, also divides Iraqi politicians. Oil, of course, is the country’s most vital resource, accounting for 95 percent of government revenue. Yet output has fallen well short of Baghdad’s production targets, mostly due to corruption, poor security, and lack of investment.
Follow the link to read in full.
Labels: draft oil law, investors, Iraq, oil production, politics, revenue
