Iraq Kurdish region says will try to block oil law

Source: Reuters

Iraq Kurdish region says will try to block oil law
By Ahmed Rasheed Reuters - 21 minutes agoBAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's Kurdish region on Sunday said it would try to block a draft oil law in parliament, raising the stakes in a row with the central government over control of the world's third largest oil reserves.

The Kurdistan autonomous region appears to be on a collision course with Baghdad over the U.S.-backed draft law at a time when Iraq is engulfed by sectarian violence.

The threat to fight the bill in Iraq's national parliament comes just days after the Oil Ministry in Baghdad warned regions against signing contracts until the landmark law was passed.

"These annexes are unconstitutional and will not be supported by the Kurdish regional government in the federal parliament," Ashti Hawrami, minister of natural resources in Kurdistan, told Reuters in a statement in response to questions.



Read more: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20070429/twl-uk-energy-iraq-20a4dd5.html

people's oil. It is more greed by the Bushistas and their big money cohorts.

:kick:

:bounce:

The Kurds are our tightest bro's in Iraq.

Even if (I mean when) the whole game falls to pieces and the Iranians end up with de facto control of the southern Iraqi oil fields, the neo-cons and Big Oil have always counted on AT LEAST keeping their paws on the Kirkuk fields.

What's really going on here? I smell illicit U.S. backing for this Kurdish opposition to the current version of the law. This may be an effort to apply pressure on the Iraqi assembly to backtrack on recent changes to the draft law that would strengthen the Iraqi oil nationalists.

US Secretary of State: Kurds have no authority over oil in their region
Posted by maddezmom in Latest Breaking News
Fri Jan 12th 2007, 05:05 AM
London (KurdishMedia.com) 12 January 2007: U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stated that Kurds do not have the right over oil in their areas, Reuters reported on Thursday.

On the issue of the ownership of oil Reuters stated, “Ethnic Kurds whose region includes the country's northern oil fields including the giant Kirkuk field have signed some contracts with foreign oil companies, spurring confusion over who has the authority to ink contracts.”

Rice said the oil law would not give the Kurds such authority.

"Even though the Kurds might have been expected ... to insist that they will simply control all the resources themselves, that's not what the oil law does," Rice said.

Rice predicted what would be in the Iraqi oil law. She was not asked how she knew what is in the law that is not yet written.

Senators bemoan lack of Iraq oil law progress
~snip~
The contract issue is vital to Iraq's future as a solution favoring the regions would devolve power over its most valuable resource to the majority Shi'ites and the Kurds whose regions are home to the country's most coveted oil fields.

Minority Sunni Arabs, dominant under Saddam Hussein before the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, fear regional devolution will leave them with nothing.

Ethnic Kurds whose region includes the country's northern oil fields including the giant Kirkuk field have signed some contracts with foreign oil companies, spurring confusion over who has the authority to ink contracts.

Rice said the oil law would not give the Kurds such authority.

"Even though the Kurds might have been expected ... to insist that they will simply control all the resources themselves, that's not what the oil law does," Rice said.

more:http://journals.democraticunderground.com/maddezmom/99

I think she's trying to reassure some key constituencies (BS someone) with this statement.

I think the Kurds ultimately WILL sign key contracts with foreign oil companies. Themselves. These foreign oil companies will be the usual Western Big Oil suspects - and in exchange the Kurds will be granted de facto independence as a U.S. protectorate.

I suspect Kurdistan will be the our strategic fallback headquarters after we pseudo exit Iraq.

Chimpy..his crew..and faux will report.
What further proof do you need that Democracy has taken root than to see the whole thing go to shit.
And the media lapdogs will continue to vomit it out.

is the one who will negotiate and ok oil deals with foreign powers.

The Kurds want to make the deals themselves.

Permanent basing in Iraq and favorable dealings in the oil business were what Bushco was after. Not democracy!

not to Iraqis. See this op-ed from the Times:
http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/oil/2007/0313whosoil.htm

Also see here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2756835

"Production Sharing Agreements" is a euphemism for taking ownership of Iraqi oil, currently nationalized (as is Suadi, Kuwaiti and Iranian oil)
and giving it to ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell and BP.