Iraqi Cabinet Approves Draft Oil Law

The oil terminal at Al-Basrah (file photo) (epa) February 26, 2007 -- Iraq's cabinet has approved a draft oil law and will submit it to parliament for approval.

The law aims to distribute revenues from crude oil exports equitably across 18 provinces and open the sector to foreign investment.


Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki called the law "a gift to all the Iraqi people."


It's seen as a key effort in moves to reunite the war-torn country, but has been the subject of fierce debate among factional leaders.


(compiled from agency reports)

Sharing Iraq's Oil

Sharing Iraq's Oil

The pipeline from Kirkuk to Turkey is one of Iraq's main oil-export lifelines (epa file photo)

THE FUTURE OF THE ECONOMY. The uneven distribution of Iraq's oil resources has long been a source of tension among the country's ethnic and sectarian groups. Since the fall of Saddam Hussein, the tangled quest to find an equitable way to share oil revenues has been a major stumbling block on the road to national unity.


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