Member of the Oil Parliament reveals the person responsible for obstructing the legislation of the Oil and Gas Law
Member of the Oil Parliament reveals the person responsible for obstructing the legislation of the Oil and Gas Law
2024/09/09
Member of the Parliamentary Oil and Gas Committee, Ali Shaddad, revealed who is responsible for obstructing the legislation of the Oil and Gas Law.
Shaddad said, during his hosting in the program {Free Talk} broadcasted by Al-Furat satellite channel on Sunday evening, that: ”
– The Ministry of Oil formed two committees to reach an understanding on the oil and gas law that regulates the relationship between the region, the center and the governorates.
– The Kurds turned the file into a political one and what the committees reached was the region’s request to raise the ceiling of one barrel to $22 and this is not possible, in addition to not revealing the oil contracts to Baghdad and their nature due to the confidentiality of the information and the matter is pending until this moment.
– The committees that were formed have failed to resolve the problems to pass the oil and gas law.
– There are indications that the region is not committed to stopping the smuggling of approximately 250 thousand barrels of oil per day and Iraq is incurring financial losses and Kurdistan is not listening to the federal government in ending this file.
– The government succeeded in stopping the import of oil derivatives with the exception of improved and super gasoline, and the fifth and sixth rounds were announced and 12 new investment projects were referred in the oil and gas sector, not to mention the Ministry of Oil preparing to complete the sixth and seventh rounds in the Anbar fields and governorates Southern.
– The proposal to merge the Ministries of Oil and Electricity under the title {Ministry of Energy} requires a lot of effort and a review of the systems and laws in force in the oil and electricity sector, including activating the National Oil Company as a proactive step towards the merger process.
– There are limitations that prevent Iraq from reaching a production of 8 million and the matter cannot be implemented at the present time as it depends on infrastructure projects, export ports and new pipelines, as the current ones only accommodate 4 million barrels per day, and Iraq is committed to OPEC’s decision to reduce.
– Iraq exports oil and sells it abroad, and there is oil that is used locally and goes to refining companies and is also specified by OPEC.
– Investing in gas in the southern regions of Iraq is very important and the government of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has succeeded in it so far, and the investment rate in associated gas is 67% and there are projects for free and natural gas in western Iraq and the Ministry of Oil is working to attract and attract investors.
– The process of selling oil is subject to global markets and amounts to $ 80 per barrel, and the fluctuation of oil prices poses a concern for the Iraqi budget; But there is reassurance from the recent OPEC decision that seeks to control the price of a barrel according to the agreement.
– The government must create sectors parallel to the oil and gas sector to avoid fears of falling and rising oil prices.
– Transferring the management of oil companies’ funds to the public sector to private financing and receiving their budgets from the Ministry of Finance is a decision that violates the law, and ill-considered decisions in the oil sector lead to deterioration of production.
– Cabinet Resolution 24600 of 2024 regarding oil companies was postponed, and the Minister of Oil confirmed that he would not vote on the decision and sent an official letter to the Prime Minister that included the repercussions of the decision, the reasons for it, and the problems that would arise if it were applied to the oil sector. This indicates the ministry’s reservations about the decision.
– The recent decision regarding oil companies must be cancelled or amended.
Cabinet Resolution No. (24600) of 2024, issued in the thirty-third regular session on August 13, 2024, sparked widespread controversy in political and economic circles, as opinions differed regarding amending the treasury’s share of the profits of public companies and increasing it from 45% to 75%.
This decision comes within the framework of economic reforms aimed at supporting the state treasury.
For its part, the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers clarified in a statement that some of the comments and interpretations that spread on social media about this decision are inaccurate, noting that the decision does not include converting self-financing companies to central financing, stressing that public companies are still governed by the Public Companies Law (No. 22 of 1997), and that any change requires legislation from the House of Representatives.
The General Secretariat also confirmed that raising the treasury’s share of the profits of public companies does not affect the expenses of companies or the salaries of their employees, explaining that this procedure had previously been implemented in previous governments to support the state treasury. She pointed out that the adjusted percentage relates to the distribution of distributable profit among profitable companies only, and has no relation to revenues or expenses.
alforatnews.iq
