Iraqi Parliament To Begin Debate On Key Oil Law

The oil terminal at Al-Basrah (epa) July 3, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- The Iraqi parliament will begin debate on July 4 on a key oil law that the United States is pressing Baghdad to pass to boost reconciliation between the country's Sunnis and Shi'a, RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq reported.

Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's cabinet approved the draft law after amendments were made. Al-Maliki also spoke with reporters in Baghdad today.


"Today, the cabinet discussed the most important law in Iraq, the oil and gas law," the prime minister said. "The cabinet unanimously approved the law, which was sent today to the esteemed parliament. The first reading will be tomorrow."


The law would regulate how wealth from Iraq's huge reserves will be shared by its sectarian and ethnic groups

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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