Looks like the Iraq Oil Law is in trouble

[Bill]

This will probably become bigger news in the next few weeks.

The Iraqi parliment has had the oil law for some time now, but there are indications that it's being ignored by the Iraqi lawmakers, and is no closer to being passed than when the "oil committee", which supposedly included members of the major oil companies, who drafted the law, gave it to the parliment.

And now Al-Sadrs men claim they are going to leave the parliment to protest american occupation, which may make it impossible to pass a legitimate oil law. For now.

That would be funny.

[Bill]

I keep seeing stuff like this as a representation of what the Iraqi people think about the law, combined with the growing sense from Iraqis that the Green Zone Government is incompetent, ineffectual, and in many cases individual members of the iraqi goverment are actually behind all the murder-torture squads.

http://uruknet.info/?p=m32130&s1=h1

13th April 2007 "HYDROCARBON LAW"

"The new oil law is not within the expectation of the Iraqi people who endured for the past four years the chronic shortages of basic amenities and security. This occupation has contributed to the mass exodus of the majority of Iraqi intellectuals and experts currently residing outside its border while the Iraqi collaborators are confined to the Green Zone Texan Bubble.

"This law was instigated and formulated by US oil experts from Exxon, Mobil and BP axis and presented by reportedly known Iraqi collaborator (Tariq Shafiq – Freemason; Faraq Kasim – British interest agent; Dr Thamir Ghudban – US sympathiser and collaborator of invasion).

"The law provides 180o reversal of the present oil policies, namely that it will change the ownership from public into private foreign ownership. The contract will be based on production sharing agreement for duration not less than 50 years! Indeed Iraq is not a third world country starved of indigenous technical capability, nor short of funding to develop the existing oil field. Such contract is not suited for Iraq in-house capability.

[Bill]

More of the same.

http://www.iraqslogger.com/index.php/post/2347/Iraq_Oil_Law_Turns_Back_the_Clock_to_1951

"A New York Times editorial praised the oil law for “equitably distributing oil revenues,” while The Nation's Chris Parenti (sub.req.) noted lamely that a proposal for distributing revenue son a per-capita basis might help de-escalate sectarian conflict.

"In fact, by devolving negotiating power to regional governments, the law promotes competition for foreign oil contracts, potentially exacerbating sectarian tensions. In effect, the law looks at oil as "a prize to be divided rather than a resource to support public investment and development", said Kamil Mahdi, an expert in Middle East economics at the University of Exeter, in remarks at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs this week.

"One contract with the Kurdish Regional Government would give foreign companies a 40 percent cut of profits, said Mahdi. Clearly, it makes little sense to discuss equitable distribution of oil revenues within the country if such a large chunk will be going to non-Iraqis.

...

"Besides opening Iraq’s doors to oil companies, the law might also benefit American interests by undermining Iraqi membership in OPEC. By putting so much of the oil sector under foreign control, the law would make it extremely difficult for Iraq to implement OPEC quotas. “It’s an anti-OPEC policy,” said Mahdi.

[stefan segal]

Right on Bill...it's an oil grab of the first order, and I hope these administration bastards and their oil croneys get it shover right up their ass.

One glaring omission not even referred to, is the planned law would keep the oil denominated in USdollars.

One of the big reasons for attacking sadam was that he changed his oil to being denominated in euros...making himself a few billion in the bargain, as he dumped all his petro-dollars and bought euros when the exchange was USD 1.20 to euro .80...then that reversed, making opec drool at sadam's profits, compared to their losses...butch couldn't afford that switch because if more suppliers changed to euros, then all their billions of petro-dallars would all come back to roost instead of harmlessly gathering dust in some brokerage's basement.
To picture the disaster just described, think if you were living large, because all the checks you've written in the last 30 years were being stored away someplace and never getting to your bank to be charged against your account...then all of a Tuesday...everyone decided to dump them in the mail to you bank for payment. This is what will happen if/when the world goes off dollars for oil sales and all the world's stored petro-dollars come home to roost.
Stefan

[kres24GT]

This will probably become bigger news in the next few weeks.

The Iraqi parliment has had the oil law for some time now, but there are indications that it's being ignored by the Iraqi lawmakers, and is no closer to being passed than when the "oil committee", which supposedly included members of the major oil companies, who drafted the law, gave it to the parliment.

And now Al-Sadrs men claim they are going to leave the parliment to protest american occupation, which may make it impossible to pass a legitimate oil law. For now.

That would be funny.


Passing laws, then ignoring them, sounds like they have got democratic/republican (lower or upper case works) politics down. Now if they can just get the masses distracted by Brittney Spears hair and how many African children Angelina Jolie is adopting I think we will be out of their soon.

[Bill]

Looks like I was wrong about this - the Iraqi parliment may take advantage of the leaving Shia Sadr ministers by rushing the oil law to a vote.

Oddly enough, this article says it's just now being sent to the parliment - earlier articles I'd read said that the parliment had the law since early march. Perhaps this is a new version?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041800383.html

"Wednesday, April 18, 2007; 6:24 AM

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraq's hotly debated draft oil law is to be sent to parliament "within the coming few days if everything goes well," the Oil Ministry spokesman said on Wednesday.

"The draft is with the State Shura Council now to be put in a legal form after being written in technical language," Assem Jihad told The Associated Press in a phone interview. He gave no date for the bill's introduction.

"We are expecting to take no more than two months to discuss it inside the parliament ... between one and two months it depends on the parliament," Jihad added.

The Iraqi oil legislation, which was endorsed by the cabinet last February, will open the door for the government to sign contracts for exploration and production of the country's vast untapped reserves.

It was designed to create a fair distribution of oil profits to all Iraqis and it is perhaps the most important piece of legislation for Iraq's American patrons.

Passage of the law, thought to have been written with heavy U.S. involvement, is one of four benchmarks the Bush administration has set for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's struggling government.

Iraq sits on 115 billion barrels proven oil reserves which make it the world's third-largest, but Iraq has lagged in exploration technology.

Iraq exports about 2 million barrels of oil a day of which about 1.6 million barrels are exported through the port of Basra and some 300,000 are being pumped from the northern city of Kirkuk to the Turkish port of Ceyhan.

Oil production has plummeted since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003 as the oil pipelines have faced repeated insurgent sabotage, attacks on maintenance crews, alleged corruption, theft and mismanagement."

[imgonnaeaturlunch]

Looks like I was wrong about this - the Iraqi parliment may take advantage of the leaving Shia Sadr ministers by rushing the oil law to a vote.

Oddly enough, this article says it's just now being sent to the parliment - earlier articles I'd read said that the parliment had the law since early march. Perhaps this is a new version?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041800383.html

"Wednesday, April 18, 2007; 6:24 AM

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraq's hotly debated draft oil law is to be sent to parliament "within the coming few days if everything goes well," the Oil Ministry spokesman said on Wednesday.

"The draft is with the State Shura Council now to be put in a legal form after being written in technical language," Assem Jihad told The Associated Press in a phone interview. He gave no date for the bill's introduction.

"We are expecting to take no more than two months to discuss it inside the parliament ... between one and two months it depends on the parliament," Jihad added.

The Iraqi oil legislation, which was endorsed by the cabinet last February, will open the door for the government to sign contracts for exploration and production of the country's vast untapped reserves.

It was designed to create a fair distribution of oil profits to all Iraqis and it is perhaps the most important piece of legislation for Iraq's American patrons.

Passage of the law, thought to have been written with heavy U.S. involvement, is one of four benchmarks the Bush administration has set for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's struggling government.

Iraq sits on 115 billion barrels proven oil reserves which make it the world's third-largest, but Iraq has lagged in exploration technology.

Iraq exports about 2 million barrels of oil a day of which about 1.6 million barrels are exported through the port of Basra and some 300,000 are being pumped from the northern city of Kirkuk to the Turkish port of Ceyhan.

Oil production has plummeted since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003 as the oil pipelines have faced repeated insurgent sabotage, attacks on maintenance crews, alleged corruption, theft and mismanagement."
After all the lying, who knows what to expect from Iraq. The fact that nobody has confronted Bush/Cheney with their lies about Iraq tells you all you need to know. Tim Russett did get Cheney to admit he didn't anticipate an insurgency. That alone should be grounds for impeachment of both of 'em, it's called incompetecy. Why aren't the parents, spouses, brothers & sisters, aunts & uncles of dead soldiers, wounded soldiers, soldiers who are over there now, demanding an explanation from Bush/Cheney. Now that's patriotism, not going along like dumb sheep.

[Bill]

If they pass the oil law, and we really manage to grab the iraqi oil, then all we have to do is pull back to our bases, let the iraqis go to hell (which wouldn't be just a figure of speech, in this case), wait till the country is depopulated, and then send paki laborers in there to pump out our oil.

Mission Accomplished! Game Over Man!

Rumors say Iraq oil law to move next week

Published: April 19, 2007 at 11:47 AM E-mail Story | Print Preview | License

BAGHDAD April 19 (UPI) -- Reports that Iraq's Parliament will take up the draft oil law next week may be wishful thinking, since negotiations continue and the Kurds oppose it.

After nearly a year of tense negotiations, Iraq's Cabinet in February endorsed the hydrocarbons law framework, which would set out exactly how the country's vast oil and natural-gas reserves would be governed.

But ongoing disagreement between the central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government is a roadblock to reaching terms on important annexes to the law.

The hydrocarbons law is supposed to be taken up by the Parliament by next month but is likely to get nowhere if the annexes aren't included. Those are the important aspects that determine how oil revenue is collected and redistributed, and whether the regional or central government has ownership and control over the oil fields.

Iraqi oil and government officials and foreign technocrats are meeting in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, in an attempt to iron out differences. Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani said at the meeting that he will turn it over to Parliament next week.

Shahristani is being pressed by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who is getting heat from Washington to pass the law -- a benchmark President Bush has set for success in Iraq. Maliki is threatening to reshuffle his Cabinet posts, including the Oil Ministry spot.

The KRG, however, says if negotiations end now, it will reject the law, upstreamonline.com reports. Kurds are angling for as much autonomy over their oil as possible after being persecuted by Saddam Hussein.

http://www.upi.com/Energy/Briefing/2007/04/18/rumors_say_iraq_oil_law_to_move_next_week/