01.06.12 Iraq Focus
Kurdish opposition gets tough on oil deals
Kurdish opposition parties are already flexing their muscles against their new
prime minister, Nechirvan Barzani. This month, 38 opposition MPs in the Kurdish parliament demanded that natural
resources minister Ashti Hourami come before the chamber to be questioned about oil policy.
The opposition has a list of complaints about how the minister is running energy
policy, not least of which is the lack of transparency that surrounds the
sector. In a memo, the group of MPs declared that, with oil production
expanding in
the region and an increasing number of foreign companies operating there, it
was
time that parliament was informed of exactly what was going on. The memo
asserted, “Parliament needs to know what the KRG's ambiguous plans on oil are.”
The MPs didn't pull any punches in the memo. They not only complained that the
ministry was not implementing many articles contained in the region's oil and
gas
law of 2007, they flagged up the fact that the ministry is carrying out its
business without the knowledge or supervision of parliament. They also demanded
to
be informed of exactly what quantities of oil had been produced, the price it
has
been sold at, how it has been transported and what kind of oil contracts the
ministry has signed with foreign companies. The MPs also insisted that oil
revenues
should be directed to local banks in the Kurdish region, particularly to those
areas where fields are located.
Whether Barzani and Hourami will respond to these demands has yet to be seen.
However, the move demonstrates the increasing insistence by the opposition that
the Kurdish government start to become more transparent in the way it operates,
including in its dealings with foreign energy firms.
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© 2012 Menas Associates