Iraqi Cabinet Approves Draft Oil Law

The Iraqi Cabinet approved a draft law Monday to manage the country's vast oil industry and distribute its wealth among the population - a major breakthrough in U.S. efforts to press the country's Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish groups to reach agreements to achieve stability.

www.iraqdaily.com...

The problem about this draft is the way in which the wealth is to be administered and controlled.

Taking into consideration that the areas rich in oil, are located in the northern and southern part of Iraq . . . that will be the Kurdish and Shiites . . . Sunnis hold the least and possible none of the wealth.

US companies will have the rights to the oil with huge tax brakes after that.

The regional governments will manage the revenues and are responsible to share the wealth with the people by population size in their regions.

The Bush administration, facing growing pressure to end the Iraq conflict, has been urging the Iraqis to finish the new oil law - one of the benchmarks that al-Maliki's government had pledged to meet by the end of last year.

.
Right now, the sectarian violence has stopped the regional elections that were to be held at the end of the year and to reverse legislation that keeps Sunnis from government posts.

The draft also encourage control of areas like the Kurdish have in the north as independent and Shiites in the south.
Behind the scene we have a very insistent American lobbyist with arm-twisting and public pressure tactics into giving away their resources to US oil American companies, in the emerging emergency from congress to pull the troops from Iraq.

But then again who is going to protect the investors in Iraq that will be taking over the oil?

I wonder.

Tax Breaks? Im sure the oil companies already get some sort of significant tax breaks, do you mean as an incentive to set up operations in Iraq?

Also, The companies wont be stealing the oil, Im sure they will give some money to the Iraqis to be used as they see fit for rights to the oil.

At least I hope we arent just taking the oil, does anyone know if compensation is being paid to the Iraqis government or even if US operations will be set up there? If so, what company?

The problem with the draft been passed in the Iraqi government is the instability with that government . . . because most Sunnis have been left out when it comes to regional voting, is a concern that violence will raise due to the wealth that is to be distributed from the revenues of the oil could land in the hands of a few and none to the people.

This is just right now in the making but perhaps to hastily pushed, is not way that US oil companies are going to be able to start anything with all the problems in the region.

The companies to benefit are from the US and UK.

If over 1 billion dollars in Oil was already stolen and hijacked, plus how many billions missing, I can only imagine whats going to happen to these people. It was bad enough when they had a 1 man government helping himself, imagine now with this new democratic government and all those hands dipping into the pot.

That is what I think is going to happen, with not control in the regions from the government either the money from the revenue is going to be missing or going into the hands of the new emerging elite. . .

But what does the oil companies care, they are only to make money out of it and getting the better part of the deal. . .

But lets no forget that when the people start attacking the new invaders that will be stealing their wealth and their resources then they will be targeted as terrorist, insurgents and enemies of progress, they will be deal with it. . .

Sad situation for the people in the regions in a volatile environment.