Middle East Economic Survey
VOL. L
No 49
3-Decem
Open Letter From Iraqi Oil Experts To Parliament
The following is the translated text of a letter sent to the speaker and members of the Iraqi parliament on 26 November by 60 Iraqi oil experts, commenting on the recent signing of 15 production-sharing agreements between the Kurdish Region Government (KRG) and international oil companies, without the prior approval of the federal oil ministry or the approval of a federal oil law.
Dr Husain al-Shahrastani, Minister of Oil, has correctly declared on a number of occasions that the ministry considers all these agreements illegal and has threatened legal action against those companies, as well as putting them on a blacklist, thus ruling out their participation in any future contracts with the oil ministry. Parliament’s oil and gas committee adopted a similar position which is certainly the correct stance that must be supported by all political and popular groups, regardless of their other politics, to stand united against these deliberate and dangerous actions by the KRG.
The KRG actions were not only limited to a policy of signing such contracts but in fact followed a more dangerous step that has no legal or political standing whatsoever. The KRG trampled on the rights of other components of the Iraqi people when it awarded in some of those contracts, including the one with the US’s Hunt Oil, blocks that extend well beyond the boundaries of Iraqi Kurdistan towards Ninewa, Tamim, Salah al-Din and Diyala. The KRG also decided unilaterally to give one of its newly founded oil companies the responsibility of developing Khurmala, one of the three domes of Kirkuk field. Two years ago, the oil ministry’s SCOP completed the engineering and procurement of all related materials and equipment and was about to start construction activities, but was prevented from doing so by KRG.
The Iraqi oil professionals, who had warned in their previous letters and declarations in February and July 2007 (MEES, 19 March, 13 August) of the danger of dividing the responsibility of negotiating and signing of oil contracts and had asked for these responsibilities to remain exclusively with the ministry and Iraq National Oil Company, now consider the steps by KRG as illegal. It is also obvious that the signing of so many contracts within only a few weeks indicate that the KRG had continued negotiations with foreign companies even while discussing the draft oil law and without regard to the opinions and reservations of the other political blocks and popular organizations.
The deliberate action by the authorities of Iraqi Kurdistan, without considerations of other views and objections, proves clearly that the position taken by the Iraqi oil professionals previously was a correct one. They would like to confirm their stance and declare their support for that taken by the oil minister and parliament’s oil and gas committee in rejecting those contracts. They also hope that the legislating bodies will also take into consideration the vital comments made by the oil professionals on the various drafts of the oil law and ask them to rewrite it in such a way that it guarantees the national rights of the Iraqi people and not to rush into legislating the said law.
The signatories include: Issam Chalabi, Kassim A Taqi (former oil ministers); Tariq Shafiq, Faruq Kassim (two of the three experts who wrote the first draft oil law); Muhammad al-Jibouri (former trade minister head of SOMO); Dhia Bakka (head of SOMO); Sa΄dallah Fathi (director of OPEC studies, advisor to minister); ΄Abd al-Amir Anbari (Advisor). Former heads of oil organizations and directors general: Karim Shamma, Sabah Juma, M Obaidi, Faleh Khayyatt, Rajih Yousif, Tariq Omar, M Jibour, Mahmud Bashi, Namir Mufti, Fuad Kadhimi, Arfan Zaki, Sharif Muhsin, Mehdi Hnoosh, ΄Ali Ijam, Ghassan Hadban, ΄Abd al-Khairi, Nouri al-Ani, N. Hadithi, Yas Janaby, Kahtan Anbaki, Husam Kashmoola, Hazim Sultan. Oil Experts: Muhammad Zaini, Sabri Kadhim, Sabah Awni, Fuad al-Amir, Majid Shreidah, Mahboob Chalabi, Tariq Irhaiyam, Iqdam Derzi, Kamil Adhadh, Kamil Mehaidi, Talal Rassam, Ghassan A Rassim.