IRAQI OIL LAW APPROVED BY IRAQI CABINET OPEN THE IRAQI UPSTREAM SECTOR TO FOREIGN INVESTMENTS

DR. FALEH H.M. AL-KHAYAT, Albasrah.net

The draft of Iraq 's long awaited Oil and Gas Law, approved by the cabinet on February 26, opens up the country's prized upstream sector to private, local and foreign investors for the first time since the nationalization of the industry more than three decades ago. The Author has obtained the final draft in Arabic, dated February 15, that was approved by the Council of Ministers along with critical annexes classifying the oil fields and the blocks that will be opened up. It also includes the covering letter by the cabinet submitting the draft to the Iraqi Council of Representatives. The approved draft, which was amended after intense discussions between central government and the Kurdish authorities in the north, differs in two key areas from a previous widely circulated draft dated January 15...

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