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By Country / Iraq

Iraqi Leaders Reportedly Agree On Draft Oil Law

January 17, 2007

An oil refinery in Al-Basrah (file photo) (epa)

January 17, 2007 -- Reports say Iraq's Oil Committee, which groups senior national and regional leaders, has agreed a final draft of an oil law that sets rules for sharing revenues and boosting output.

Oil Ministry spokesman Asim Jihad said the draft calls for a federal committee headed by the prime minister to oversee all contracts. It would also have the power to review existing deals signed under Saddam Hussein or by the Kurdish regional government.

Jihad said the bill would go to the cabinet next week for consideration.

(Reuters)

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Sharing Iraq's Oil

The pipeline from Kirkuk to Turkey is one of Iraq's main oil-export lifelines (epa file photo)

THE FUTURE OF THE ECONOMY. The uneven distribution of Iraq's oil resources has long been a source of tension among the country's ethnic and sectarian groups. Since the fall of Saddam Hussein, the tangled quest to find an equitable way to share oil revenues has been a major stumbling block on the road to national unity.