The Oil and Gas bill’s future was disclosed by the Oil, Gas and Natural Resources Committee this Thursday. It was anticipated that the bill would be moved to the following legislative session.
In an interview with the, committee member Zainab Al-Moussawi stated, “At this point, there are no developments regarding the oil and gas law.” The Iraqi Council of Representatives’ decision to choose a new president was influenced by the political climate.
“It is expected that the chapters of dialogues between Baghdad and Erbil regarding the law will begin again after the selection of the Speaker of the Council,” she said, pointing out that “the repeated violations of the American forces in Iraq take up part of Parliament’s work, as it supports the government in removing its forces from the country.”
“If the Kurdish dispute continues over some points of the law, I expect it to go to the next parliamentary session,” clarified the member of parliament for oil.
Prior to this, Ghaleb Muhammad Ali, a former member of the Oil and Energy Committee, acknowledged on Wednesday that political issues and disagreements existed between Erbil and Baghdad with reference to the oil and gas legislation.
The Kurdistan area continues to be a barrier to the oil and gas law’s acceptance, according to political expert Sabah Al-Ukaili. However, he emphasized that the law’s passage will end all conflicts in the oil provinces, particularly the Kurdistan region.
To stop the thefts and breaches committed by the Kurdistan Regional Government in the oil smuggling case, the Kurdish parties are still preventing the government from passing the oil and gas legislation, which must now be voted on in Parliament.
