Draft oil law approved by Iraq cabinet
"Iraq's cabinet approved draft legislation Monday that would enable the government to manage the country's vast oil resources and distribute revenue throughout the country, a step toward meeting a U.S. demand that the country's parliament pass such a law.
. . . The draft oil law, approved by Iraq's cabinet after months of intense negotiations, must still be approved by parliament. Ministers agreed to a goal of enacting the legislation by May, a senior Iraqi official said on condition of anonymity.
'If this law is enacted, it is truly an important breakthrough to establishing the political economy of what we want to see: an Iraq that is democratic, federal and united,' Barham Salih, one of Iraq's two deputy prime ministers, said in an interview.
The draft law calls for oil revenue throughout the country to be deposited in a federal government account and redistributed to Iraq's 18 provinces, most likely on a per capita basis, said Salih, the chairman of the negotiating committee working on the legislation. A secondary piece of legislation will address in more detail the mechanisms of revenue distribution, he added." [1]
"Distributing revenue by population is not guaranteed to placate the feuding parties because no accurate census exists.
. . . The minority Sunni Arabs, who ruled Iraq for decades before the toppling of Saddam Hussein and are now leading the insurgency, have chafed at rule by the Shiites and Kurds partly because they fear that those two groups might hoard oil wealth for themselves. Sunni Arab leaders have resisted attempts by the Kurds and some Shiite politicians to create laws allowing for greater regional autonomy.
The draft law says that all revenues from current and future oil fields will be collected by the central government and redistributed to regional or provincial governments by population, in theory ensuring an equitable distribution of profits. That method could help assuage Sunni Arabs hostile to Kurdish and Shiite autonomy.
The attitudes of Sunni Arabs could also soften if more oil exploration is done on their land. Iraqi officials recently increased their estimates of the amount of oil and natural gas deposits in Sunni Arab territory." [2]
sources
[1] Partlow, Joshua & Londono, Ernesto. (The Washington Post). Iraq's Cabinet Backs Contentious Oil Measure. February 27, 2007.
[2] Wong, Edward. (The New York Times). Iraqis Reach an Accord on Oil Revenues. February 27, 2007.
posted: tuesday, february 27, 2007, 11:58 AM ET
tags: iraq oil federalism
. . . The draft oil law, approved by Iraq's cabinet after months of intense negotiations, must still be approved by parliament. Ministers agreed to a goal of enacting the legislation by May, a senior Iraqi official said on condition of anonymity.
'If this law is enacted, it is truly an important breakthrough to establishing the political economy of what we want to see: an Iraq that is democratic, federal and united,' Barham Salih, one of Iraq's two deputy prime ministers, said in an interview.
The draft law calls for oil revenue throughout the country to be deposited in a federal government account and redistributed to Iraq's 18 provinces, most likely on a per capita basis, said Salih, the chairman of the negotiating committee working on the legislation. A secondary piece of legislation will address in more detail the mechanisms of revenue distribution, he added." [1]
"Distributing revenue by population is not guaranteed to placate the feuding parties because no accurate census exists.
. . . The minority Sunni Arabs, who ruled Iraq for decades before the toppling of Saddam Hussein and are now leading the insurgency, have chafed at rule by the Shiites and Kurds partly because they fear that those two groups might hoard oil wealth for themselves. Sunni Arab leaders have resisted attempts by the Kurds and some Shiite politicians to create laws allowing for greater regional autonomy.
The draft law says that all revenues from current and future oil fields will be collected by the central government and redistributed to regional or provincial governments by population, in theory ensuring an equitable distribution of profits. That method could help assuage Sunni Arabs hostile to Kurdish and Shiite autonomy.
The attitudes of Sunni Arabs could also soften if more oil exploration is done on their land. Iraqi officials recently increased their estimates of the amount of oil and natural gas deposits in Sunni Arab territory." [2]
sources
[1] Partlow, Joshua & Londono, Ernesto. (The Washington Post). Iraq's Cabinet Backs Contentious Oil Measure. February 27, 2007.
[2] Wong, Edward. (The New York Times). Iraqis Reach an Accord on Oil Revenues. February 27, 2007.
posted: tuesday, february 27, 2007, 11:58 AM ET
tags: iraq oil federalism
Labels: federalism, iraq, oil
posted by eric at 11:12 AM
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