Member of the Parliamentary Oil and Gas Committee, MP Ali Al-Mashkoor, attributed the delay in approving the Oil and Gas Law to points of contention behind which the Kurdistan Region stands.
Al-Mashkoor said in a statement to Al-Maalouma Agency, “The law has been in place since 2008 and was sent to the House of Representatives to regulate the financial and oil matters of the producing provinces,” explaining that “this law cannot be passed except with political approvals from the blocs within Parliament.”
He added, “The reason for the suspension of this law in the corridors of the House of Representatives lies in the failure to send its latest updates, as there are clear points of disagreement with the region,” indicating that “the dialogues with the region resulted in reducing these articles from 9 to 7 points.”
He explained that “dialogues are still ongoing between the federal government and the region in order to resolve these points,” noting that “until now we have not reached solutions that can be accepted by both parties.”
The Kurdish parties continue to obstruct the government in approving the oil and gas law, which must be voted on in parliament in order to end the violations and thefts that the Kurdistan Regional Government is carrying out in the oil smuggling file.
