Kazem Al-Touki, a Parliamentary Oil, Gas, and Natural Resources Committee member, stated on Wednesday that all the technical issues concerning the oil and gas law have been resolved. However, there are still political problems between Baghdad and Erbil concerning the law that requires intervention from the active parties. Al-Touki emphasized that the involved parties need to work towards resolving these issues so that they can implement the law effectively.
Al-Touki stated that they had hoped the oil and gas law would be resolved and presented to Parliament for discussion during the next legislative term. However, it was not completed within the government’s corridors.
“The plan included discussing the oil and gas law between the Prime Minister and the political blocs, as well as between the region and the Ministry of Oil. Once these discussions were completed, the plan would be presented to Parliament for reading, discussion and voting,” he explained.
He mentioned that the committees responsible for resolving the oil and gas law have completed gathering the technical issues related to the law. However, there are still political problems between the central and regional authorities that need the intervention of political parties to resolve all matters and move forward with the enactment of the law.
