On Thursday, Ali Al-Mashkour, a member of the Parliamentary Oil and Gas Committee, stated that there are 11 contentious issues related to the Oil and Gas Law articles. However, he anticipates that the law will be approved after the upcoming local elections in mid-December.
According to Al-Mashkoor, there is disagreement between the federal government and the region regarding the oil and gas law. Each side has its own perspective on the matter, leading to 11 controversial points in the government’s articles. These points are affecting the spirit and name of the law and require time to be resolved.
According to him, there is a controversial aspect of the law related to the formation of the Oil and Gas Law Authority. This authority includes representatives from the producing governorates, the federal government, and the region. The president of this authority is the Federal Minister of Oil, but the region wants its own Oil Minister to have equal authority. The law is expected to be passed after the upcoming local elections in mid-December.
According to Al-Mashkoor, Iraq does not have two separate states. Instead, there is a federal government and a region. He advocates for the centralization of the law to consider the rights of both the provinces and the region. He also stated that his committee is prepared to approve the law at any given time.
