Iraqi politicians agree deal on sharing oil, says Kurd minister

[cal04]

Source: The Guardian

Iraq's Kurdish leaders said last night they had struck an important deal with the central government in Baghdad over a law to divide up Iraq's oil revenues, which is seen by the Bush administration as one of the benchmarks in attempts to foster national reconciliation.

Ashti Hawrami, the minister for natural resources in the Kurdistan regional government, told the Guardian the text had been finalised late last night after 48 hours of "tough bargaining" with Baghdad. The deal represented "a genuine revenue sharing agreement" that was transparent and would benefit all the people of Iraq and help pull the country together, he said.

Iraq's oil revenue accounted for 93% of the federal budget last year. Iraq sells about 1.6m barrels a day.

Mr Hawrami said the law provided for the setting up of two "regulated and monitored" accounts into which external and internal revenues would be deposited. The external account would include items such as oil export earnings and foreign donor money, while the internal fund would consist largely of customs and taxes. The federal government in Baghdad would take what it needed, and the rest would be automatically distributed to the Kurdistan regional government, which would get 17%, and to Iraq's governorates "according to their entitlement". Revenues would be distributed monthly, he said.



Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,2107927,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=12

[monktonman]

1. Cool, now we can go home.

[ValiantBlue]

11. Actually...

this may mean U.S. troops remain there for a long time.

[Kagemusha]

2. I had an aunt who had a memorable quote concerning a will dispute.

It concerned a great-uncle's estate, which didn't exactly have lots of money, mind you, but at any rate, this aunt controlled the accounts while the man still lived and was in no condition to manage his own affairs. She and a different relative of the man who was of no direct relation to me whatsoever were the known beneficiaries of the will, which I think she was in charge of executing too (they put trust in her, which is a bit sad in hindsight). She knew that the other beneficiary was due 40% of the estate after this man's death. And so, her memorable quote was...

"40% of nothing is nothing."

As in, if she spent all the money before her uncle died, the other woman wouldn't get a dime because she'd get 40% of a big, fat zero.

Brilliant in its simplicity, no?

When I read, "he federal government in Baghdad would take what it needed," that is the phrase that immediately comes to mind.

[Javaman]

8. Or as Billy Preston once said, "nothing from nothing leaves nothing". nt

[OldschoolDem]

3. I hope this is a step in the right direction

I pray to god we can secure Baghdad next and the country will finally settle down. We need our fighting men and women home.

[Javaman]

7. Ain't gonna happen in our lifetime. nt

[pinto]

4. Who did the "tough bargaining"?

from the same article:

Iraq's finance minister, Bayan Jabr, and the oil minister, Hussein Sharistani, were accompanying the president, Jalal Talabani, on a state a visit to China and could not be contacted for comment.

[maddezmom]

5. Iraq govt, Kurds resolve oil law row...but Parliament could still make changes

Iraq govt, Kurds resolve oil law row
Reuters - 1 hour 3 minutes agoBAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's central government and the authorities in the autonomous region of Kurdistan have resolved disputes that had been holding up progress of a draft oil law, the Iraqi Oil Ministry spokesman said on Thursday.

Asim Jihad told Reuters the draft had been submitted to parliament, adding he expected lawmakers to debate the legislation in the next few days.

Jihad declined to discuss details of the deal, which will be greeted with relief in Washington. The United States has been pressing Iraq's leaders to speed up passage of several key laws aimed at spurring national reconciliation and ending sectarian violence between majority Shi'ites and minority Sunni Arabs.

~snip~

The draft law, crucial to regulating how wealth from Iraq's huge oil reserves will be shared by its sectarian and ethnic groups, was approved by the cabinet in February but faced opposition from Kurds over who would control the oilfields. There was also a row over how revenue would be distributed.

Jihad declined to say when the agreement had been reached, adding parliament could also make changes to the draft.

more:http://uk.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20070621/tpl-uk-iraq-oil-02bfc7e.html

[maddezmom]

6. Analysis: Iraq oil law changes irk author

Analysis: Iraq oil law changes irk author
Ben Lando
UPI Energy Correspondent
June 21, 2007


WASHINGTON -- The role of Iraq's central government as a guiding hand over the country's vast oil reserves has been so altered in the current version of the controversial draft oil law that two of the document's authors now oppose it.

"The judgment of many is if the oil and gas is the property of the whole nation, it should be managed by whom? The custodian of the whole nation, and that's the federal government," said Tariq Shafiq, a London- and Amman, Jordan-based consultant and director of Petrolog & Associates.

Shafiq, who just last summer was crafting the legislation, told United Press International during a recent Washington visit that subsequent revisions have watered down the central government's role with political bartering that will lead to mismanagement of the world's third-largest oil reserves.

Shafiq also warned of overdevelopment of the country's oil and gas resources, especially if the undiscovered reserves are developed or Kurdistan or other regions develop their fields outside of a central oil strategy.

more:http://www.metimes.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20070621-053628-3415r

[Toots]

9. Well did America and the Oil Barons get the oil or not?

With all the money they are supposedly receiving right now pumping 1.6 M barrels a day @ $60. per barrel plus the $100 Billion just approved by Congress in Iraq Emergency Supplemental Spending that mostly was for "rebuilding" Iraq (Halliburton) development must be booming there. Iraqis must beworking hard to spend all that money. Unemployment must be less than five percent with that much government money to spend..Is anybody out there????Is anything clicking??

[maddezmom]

10. Iraqis water down the draft oil law

BAGHDAD - Iraqi officials said Friday that a U.S.-backed draft oil law will soon be returned to the Cabinet for approval after Kurds agreed to a compromise revenue-sharing measure. But they said many key sticking points remain unresolved — and not even addressed — in the watered-down legislation.

The United States has pressed the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to pass the oil law and several other pieces of benchmark legislation as a means of spurring reconciliation among the country's sectarian and ethnic groups. The law is especially important to Sunni Arabs, who populate regions of Iraq that are largely without oil resources.

~snip~

Passage of even a watered-down oil law would allow the Bush administration to point to some progress before the American military leadership reports to Congress on progress in the campaign to clamp off Iraqi violence.

more:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070622/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_oil_law;_ylt=AhxqVdHJM5pQ4DX33AUV8vALewgF


it's all about showing progress that really doesn't exist