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This is not passed yet
Coming 'in its own time'
By Ben Lando
UPI Energy Editor
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Sept. 4 (UPI) -- The question is simple on the third and final day of a major Iraqi energy conference where hundreds of hungry oil men and women broke bread with Iraq's industry chiefs, politicians and technocrats: When will Baghdad set the ground rules for the international oil community's long-awaited venture into the largest oil prize on Earth?
The answer, evenly nuanced, is clear: A version of the Iraq oil and natural gas law was agreed to by most of Iraq's political leadership last week, and when Parliament resumes this week it will, possibly, debate the law and, perhaps, maybe vote on it soon.
"They have a deal on the government level. Once it comes to the Parliament, it is the Parliament who has to have the say," Abdul-Hadi al-Hasani, deputy head of Parliament's Energy Committee, said on the sidelines of the summit, though he hasn't seen the latest version of the bill yet.
"This is really a discussion taking place between all expertise, members of Parliament, economists, government officials," he said, adding the balance between Iraqi and investor interests isn't a quick resolve. "I wish it could have been passed yesterday. We need it. But simply it has to take its own time to come through maturely."
The world's leading hydrocarbons firms attending the Iraq Oil, Gas, Petrochemical and Electricity Summit, organized by the London-based Iraq Development Program, held roundtables over the future of Iraq's oil while planning deals to venture into its sister sectors. Yet, from the minnows to the giants, service firms and equipment providers, they wait, with billions of dollars, for this law, which has numerous times before been just around the corner.
Theirs aren't the only eyes on Iraq's oil, the third-largest proven reserves in the world, made more tempting when one considers how much of the country is unexplored. What has been found, usually close to the surface and sweet, is pumped and refined cheaper than anywhere else, except for the cost of producing amid war.
Iraq's political parties have no easy task, however, thus the delay to decide how large a role the federal government will have in deciding the country's oil strategy and, pushed by the powerful oil unions, the extent private and foreign hands will be allowed a grab.
President Bush arrived in Iraq Monday, just days before Parliament and the U.S. Congress return from recess, and with the upcoming war evaluation from top U.S. military and embassy officials looming.
This is not passed yet
Coming 'in its own time'
By Ben Lando
UPI Energy Editor
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Sept. 4 (UPI) -- The question is simple on the third and final day of a major Iraqi energy conference where hundreds of hungry oil men and women broke bread with Iraq's industry chiefs, politicians and technocrats: When will Baghdad set the ground rules for the international oil community's long-awaited venture into the largest oil prize on Earth?
The answer, evenly nuanced, is clear: A version of the Iraq oil and natural gas law was agreed to by most of Iraq's political leadership last week, and when Parliament resumes this week it will, possibly, debate the law and, perhaps, maybe vote on it soon.
"They have a deal on the government level. Once it comes to the Parliament, it is the Parliament who has to have the say," Abdul-Hadi al-Hasani, deputy head of Parliament's Energy Committee, said on the sidelines of the summit, though he hasn't seen the latest version of the bill yet.
"This is really a discussion taking place between all expertise, members of Parliament, economists, government officials," he said, adding the balance between Iraqi and investor interests isn't a quick resolve. "I wish it could have been passed yesterday. We need it. But simply it has to take its own time to come through maturely."
The world's leading hydrocarbons firms attending the Iraq Oil, Gas, Petrochemical and Electricity Summit, organized by the London-based Iraq Development Program, held roundtables over the future of Iraq's oil while planning deals to venture into its sister sectors. Yet, from the minnows to the giants, service firms and equipment providers, they wait, with billions of dollars, for this law, which has numerous times before been just around the corner.
Theirs aren't the only eyes on Iraq's oil, the third-largest proven reserves in the world, made more tempting when one considers how much of the country is unexplored. What has been found, usually close to the surface and sweet, is pumped and refined cheaper than anywhere else, except for the cost of producing amid war.
Iraq's political parties have no easy task, however, thus the delay to decide how large a role the federal government will have in deciding the country's oil strategy and, pushed by the powerful oil unions, the extent private and foreign hands will be allowed a grab.
President Bush arrived in Iraq Monday, just days before Parliament and the U.S. Congress return from recess, and with the upcoming war evaluation from top U.S. military and embassy officials looming.
