Parliamentarians are pessimistic about the oil and gas law being passed: it will be postponed until the next session.
Parliamentarians are pessimistic about the oil and gas law being passed: it will be postponed until the next session.
2025-04-06 06:31
Shafaq News/ The Oil and Gas Committee of the Iraqi Parliament confirmed on Sunday that disagreements between the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government regarding the oil and gas law continue, suggesting that it will likely be postponed to the next parliamentary session in light of the lack of political will to resolve it.
Committee member Bassem Naghamish told Shafaq News Agency, “The problems between the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government are still ongoing, and there is no political consensus on finalizing the law and sending it to the Council of Representatives.” He indicated that the most prominent points of contention are the mechanism for implementing the Federal Court’s decisions and the federal government’s responsibility for the region’s oil and financial revenues.
Naghamish pointed out that “the law will not be finalized during the current session, given the lack of genuine will to push it forward.”
On March 4, 2025, informed political sources revealed escalating disagreements between Shiite, Sunni, and Kurdish political forces regarding the oil and gas law, as well as the Popular Mobilization Forces’ service and retirement law. They noted ongoing meetings between second-tier leaders in an attempt to reach understandings regarding the contentious laws.
According to sources, Kurdish forces are insisting on passing the oil and gas law, but the insistence of all parties on their demands, which they consider necessary to gain public support before the elections, further complicates the situation.
Earlier, Oil and Gas Committee member Bassem al-Gharibawi said that agreeing on the draft law and sending it to parliament would contribute to resolving many outstanding issues between Baghdad and Erbil. He pointed out that a government committee comprising the Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs, the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, and the State Organization for Mobilization and Statistics (SOMO) would be formed to negotiate with the region on the final draft.
In a related development, economic expert Nabil al-Marsoumi revealed that nine foreign companies are seeking compensation totaling $24 billion due to the halt in oil exports following the Iraqi Ministry of Oil’s cancellation of their contracts with the Kurdistan Region.
The Karkh Court of Appeal rejected the ministry’s appeal, deeming the contracts concluded between the region and these companies “valid and enforceable,” and that the Federal Supreme Court’s February 2022 ruling does not apply to contracts concluded prior to its issuance, based on a principle of Iraqi civil law.
shafaq.com
