Iraqis Make Statement Against Oil Theft

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/28954

Iraqis Make Statement Against Oil Theft
Submitted by davidswanson on Tue, 2007-11-27 03:25. Media

> The Speaker and Members of Iraqi Parliament
> November 26, 2007
>
> Assalamu Alaykum
>
> During the last few weeks, the region of Iraqi Kurdistan announced on its
> website and through media that they had signed nearly 15 production
> sharing agreements with foreign companies without the prior approval of
> the Ministry of Oil or awaiting the approval of a federal oil law.
>
> Dr. Shahrastani, Minister of Oil has correctly declared on a number of
> occasions that the Ministry consider all those agreements as illegal and
> threatened that the Ministry will take legal action against those
> companies as well as putting them in a black list depriving them from
> participation in any future contracts with the Oil Ministry. The Oil & Gas
> parliamentarian committee adopted a similar position which is certainly
> the correct stance that must be supported by all political and popular
> groups regardless of their other politics to stand united against this
> deliberate and dangerous action by the KRG.
>
> On another hand, the KRG actions were not only limited to a policy of
> signing such contracts but in fact followed a more dangerous step that has
> no legal or political standing whatsoever and that is by overstepping on
> the rights of other components of the Iraqi people when it awarded in some
> of those contracts blocks that extend well beyond the boundaries of Iraqi
> Kurdistan towards Ninewa, Tamim, Salah el-Deen and Diyala including the
> one with the US Hunt Oil. KRG also decided unilaterally to give one of its
> newly founded oil companies the responsibility of developing Khurmala
> which is one of the three domes of Kirkuk field. Two years ago, SCOP of
> the Oil Ministry had recently completed the engineering & procurement of
> all related materials and equipment and was about to start construction
> activities but were not allowed to do so by KRG.
>
> The Iraqi oil professionals, who had previously warned in their previous
> letters and declarations in February and July 2007 of the danger of
> dividing the responsibility of negotiations and signing of oil contracts
> and had asked for it to remain exclusively for the Ministry and Iraq
> National Oil Company, they now consider the steps by KRG as illegal. It
> was also obvious that the signing of so many contracts within only few
> weeks indicate that KRG had continued negotiations with foreign companies
> even while discussing the draft oil law and regardless of the opinions and
> reservations of the other political blocks and popular organizations.
>
> The deliberate action by the authorities of Iraqi Kurdistan and without
> any due considerations of other views and objections, proves clearly that
> the position taken by the Iraqi oil professionals previously was a correct
> one and they would like to confirm their stance and declare their support
> for the stance taken by the Minister of Oil and the Oil & Gas
> parliamentarian committee in rejecting those contracts. They also hope
> that the legislating bodies will also take into considerations the vital
> comments made by the oil professionals on the various drafts of the oil
> law and ask them to rewrite it in such a way that it guarantees the
> national rights of the Iraqi people and not to rush into legislating the
> said law.
>
> Signatories: 60 Iraqi oil professionals
>
> CC: Dr. Hussein Shahrastani; Minister of Oil
> Head of the Parliamentarian Oil & Gas Committee
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ------------------------------------------
>
> Among the signatories:
>
> Issam Chalabi & Kassim A.Taqi former oil ministers
> Tariq Shafiq & Farouk Kassim two of the three experts who wrote the first
> draft oil law
> M.Jiboury (Former minister of Trade & head of SOMO). Dhia Bakka (Head of
> SOMO) Saadallah Fathi ( Director of OPEC Studies & Advisor to Minister),
> AbdelAmir Anbari ( Advisor )
> Former heads of oil organisations and Director Generals: Karim Shamma,
> Sabah Juma,M. Obaidi, Faleh Khayyatt, Rajih Yousif,Tariq Omar,M. Jibour,
> Mahmood Bashi, Namir Mufti, Fouad Kadhimi, Arfan Zeki, Sharif Muhsin,
> Mehdi Hnoosh, Ali Ijam,Ghasan Hadban, Abdall Khairi, Nouri Al-Ani,
> N.Hadithi, Yas Janaby, Kahtan Anbaki,Husam Kashmoola, Hazim Sultan
> Oil Experts; Mohammed Zaini, Sabri Kadhim, Sabah Awni, Fouad Al-Amir,
> Majid Shreidah, Mahboob Chalabi, Tariq Irhaiyam, Iqdam Derzi, Kamil
> Adhadh, Kamil Mehaidi, Talal Rassam, Ghassan A.Rassim