The Iraqi Cabinet has finally approved the draft Hydrocarbon law and will soon be read in parliament. *****

[DRV1804]

August 31, 2011

Kurdishaspect.com - By Shwan Zulal

*****The Iraqi Cabinet has finally approved the draft Hydrocarbon law and will soon be read in parliament. *****This latest development comes on the backdrop of another draft oil law, which was introduced by the Iraqi Parliamentary committee for energy pushed, by Iraqiya List and the Kurds. *****

*****Incumbent MPs walked out of parliament when the draft was supposed to have its first reading accusing the energy committee for not consulting with the government and calling the draft law weak and insubstantial.***** The first Hydrocarbon Bill surfaced in 2007 and due to political differences between the competing interests of the political factions and disputes over the legality of the Kurdish contracts, it was delayed since. *****

The parliamentary committee has always been calling for the enactment of a hydrocarbon law before holding any further hydrocarbon auctioning rounds. However, the Government has not made it its priority to try to push for the law and concentrated on developing the oil and gas sector with little progress. Commentators believe the law might be passed before the January auction. And the Iraqi government is adamant that the 4th round of auction should go ahead regardless of the enactment of the law.

This legal conundrum has created a tremendous amount of uncertainty for Kurdish Region and oil and gas companies operating there. Moreover, other companies operating in the south of the country feel vulnerable too as the Iraqi government does not yet appears to be consistent as some contracts has been renegotiation after nearly two years and deals Shell and Mitsubishi in the south of the country have been delayed.

*****The enactment of the Oil and gas law***** -either draft- *****may give some investors a sense of security***** and encourage other to come to the country, *****but unless the law is reached by political consensus and the parties involved willingly agree to adhere to it, *****the status quo does not change. *****

Kurdistan Region has been at the forefront of the parliamentary melee for the hydrocarbon law and along with the Iraqiya list have managed to push Al-Maliki's government to speed up the introduction of government version of the hydrocarbon law. The main aim of the KRG is to make sure that the contracts they entered into stay in place and if they are revised, KRG officials will have a say.

Information coming out of the Wikileaks files suggests that the US state department has advised companies against investing in Kurdistan and especially in the oil sector due to the legality of the contracts. However, some companies have ignored the advice and could not resist what was on offer in Kurdistan. Hunt oil being one example, they bought into Dhok block despite such warning. Furthermore, more talk of potential takeover is emerging in Kurdistan as Tony Hayward, investment vehicle Vallares said to be in final stages of making an offer for Turkish Genel Energy and there has rumours of British listed GKP (Gulf Keystone Petroleum) being up for sale, although denied by the company. These activates can only be an indicator that interest in the region is on the up and investors are cottoning on to the fact that the KRG would not budge to Baghdad. It is also becoming apparent that KRG will make sure the PSCs it has awarded will be honoured as failing to do so make KRG irrelevant.

With the issue of the Kurdish oil contracts becoming the focus of the Iraqi lawmakers and Kurdistan region being shelled and bombed by both Iran and Turkey. The Iraqi government has acted with impunity and so far failed to defend its "citizens" in the north of the country. The Iraqi government's lack of response could only confirm that Baghdad has very little to do with Kurdistan Region and the impasse between Baghdad and Erbil is ever greater.

*****In recent weeks, the KRG have looked weaker and appeared to be losing authority,***** but Kurdish politicians including the President *****has come out fighting and condemned the attacks.***** The massage has been clear to everyone***** that the Kurdistan Region is here to stay *****and threatening behaviour from neighbouring countries *****will not dent her resolve. *****

http://www.kurdishaspect.com/doc083111SZ.html

[brbrlocke]

Go Iraq....

[STI4RV]

"Commentators believe the law might be passed before the January auction"........hmmmmmm

[Biker]

That a boy, good find

[Bo322]

Definately getting closer.

"Kurdistan Region has been at the forefront of the parliamentary melee for the hydrocarbon law and along with the Iraqiya list have managed to push Al-Maliki's government to speed up the introduction of government version of the hydrocarbon law. The main aim of the KRG is to make sure that the contracts they entered into stay in place and if they are revised, KRG officials will have a say"

Sure seems easy enough to fix.........

This part I'm less enthusiastic about,

"With the issue of the Kurdish oil contracts becoming the focus of the Iraqi lawmakers and Kurdistan region being shelled and bombed by both Iran and Turkey. The Iraqi government has acted with impunity and so far failed to defend its "citizens" in the north of the country. The Iraqi government's lack of response could only confirm that Baghdad has very little to do with Kurdistan Region and the impasse between Baghdad and Erbil is ever greater."

Still encouraging to see more and more communication and continually improving relations with the Kurds over the years.

GO RV

[mark_mich266]

DRV1804.....thanks for the posting......time marches onward......someday!!!

[tilak]

Read it three times already and pass it

[Shick]

Definately getting closer.

"Kurdistan Region has been at the forefront of the parliamentary melee for the hydrocarbon law and along with the Iraqiya list have managed to push Al-Maliki's government to speed up the introduction of government version of the hydrocarbon law. The main aim of the KRG is to make sure that the contracts they entered into stay in place and if they are revised, KRG officials will have a say"

Sure seems easy enough to fix.........

This part I'm less enthusiastic about,

"With the issue of the Kurdish oil contracts becoming the focus of the Iraqi lawmakers and Kurdistan region being shelled and bombed by both Iran and Turkey. The Iraqi government has acted with impunity and so far failed to defend its "citizens" in the north of the country. The Iraqi government's lack of response could only confirm that Baghdad has very little to do with Kurdistan Region and the impasse between Baghdad and Erbil is ever greater."

Still encouraging to see more and more communication and continually improving relations with the Kurds over the years.

GO RV

Encouraging indeed, maybe one day their get it together.

[wpsmit]

RV,RV,RV!

[cooked]

Leave it for Parliment to screw it up.

Here little pink piggy piggy :eyebrows

[grand pubah]

these government bozos know nothing about working things out and resolving issues in a amicable way for everybody. They either get their way or they want to smash you. They despise compromise and see it as weakness. It is like watching a circus of clowns. Saddam is looking better everyday.

Fortunately they will have to eventually come to conclusion of some kind, like it or not.

The whole bunch including malaki needs thrown out on their heads and replaced by some reasonable individuals who truly have their country's best interest at heart.

Iraqi pride is a deficit to their country because it is all about winning personal battles with most of them and not about the good of their country.

hopefully the upcoming auction will provide some needed incentive to get this thing done for once.

The closer I look at the GOI the less optimistic I am that this thing will happen before the first of the year.

I am pulling for an RV in the next 1-3 months. Lets hope it happens!!!

GP

[Nelson0528]

The more they deny Kurdistan; the higher the likelyhood that the north will become its own country again. Iraq better learn to work with them; or they will have to learn to live without them... and all their resources... it is inevitable, if they are being suppressed in any way... They are done being repressed, suppresed, and oppressed. THis would bode poorly for Iran and Turkey as well... when will people learn?....

[FrankenSLI]

The more they deny Kurdistan; the higher the likelyhood that the north will become its own country again. Iraq better learn to work with them; or they will have to learn to live without them... and all their resources... it is inevitable, if they are being suppressed in any way... They are done being repressed, suppresed, and oppressed. THis would bode poorly for Iran and Turkey as well... when will people learn?....

So true... And the loss of the region would be a massive blow to the country as Kurdistan is one of Iraqs richest regions.

[wpsmit]

these government bozos know nothing about working things out and resolving issues in a amicable way for everybody. They either get their way or they want to smash you. They despise compromise and see it as weakness. It is like watching a circus of clowns. Saddam is looking better everyday.

Fortunately they will have to eventually come to conclusion of some kind, like it or not.

The whole bunch including malaki needs thrown out on their heads and replaced by some reasonable individuals who truly have their country's best interest at heart.

Iraqi pride is a deficit to their country because it is all about winning personal battles with most of them and not about the good of their country.

Thanks for the post grand pubah, and may i add that if you make a couple of substitutions in the highlighted statements above, you have a grand statement about the government upon which the Iraq government was modeled. For example:

Jimmy Carter is looking better everyday.

The whole bunch including Obama needs thrown out on their heads and replaced by some reasonable individuals who truly have our country's best interest at heart.

United States of American pride is a deficit to our country because it is all about winning personal battles with most of them and not about the good of our country.

I say they have done a magnificent job of emulating our own country's government!

[Deltori]

Thanks for the post grand pubah, and may i add that if you make a couple of substitutions in the highlighted statements above, you have a grand statement about the government upon which the Iraq government was modeled. For example:

Jimmy Carter is looking better everyday.

The whole bunch including Obama needs thrown out on their heads and replaced by some reasonable individuals who truly have our country's best interest at heart.

United States of American pride is a deficit to our country because it is all about winning personal battles with most of them and not about the good of our country.

I say they have done a magnificent job of emulating our own country's government!

yeah I second that...and this article while a good find does not make me happy as it seems to say the HCL is about 4 months out or something like that. Is that what I'm seeing?

[grand pubah]

Thanks for the post grand pubah, and may i add that if you make a couple of substitutions in the highlighted statements above, you have a grand statement about the government upon which the Iraq government was modeled. For example:

Jimmy Carter is looking better everyday.

The whole bunch including Obama needs thrown out on their heads and replaced by some reasonable individuals who truly have our country's best interest at heart.

United States of American pride is a deficit to our country because it is all about winning personal battles with most of them and not about the good of our country.

I say they have done a magnificent job of emulating our own country's government!

Ha ha ha!

Well spoken wpsmit!

However I believe as well our politicians are run as much by lobbiests and special interests more than the general wellbeing of the country overall. I guess at least we don't normally try to kill each other when we disagree. That of course is if you don't consider political smear ads and inflamatory statements to be assasination .

The whole political thing is centered around money and personal gain anymore anyhew. Forget what is right as long as you look good.