Leaders of Iraq’s Kurdish Region Reportedly Approve Draft Oil Law
By Ernesto Londoño
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, February 25, 2007; 7:30 AM
BAGHDAD, Feb. 24 — Leaders of Iraq’s oil-rich Kurdish region have apparently approved a draft oil law that will be presented to Iraqi lawmakers in coming weeks, an eagerly awaited breakthrough that is expected to professionalize and expand drilling in the country.
The agreement was announced Saturday by Massoud Barzani, president of the regional government in Kurdish-populated northern Iraq, during a news conference in the northern city of Sulaymaniyah attended by Iraq’s president, the Associated Press reported.
“We reached a final agreement,” Barzani said, according to AP. “We accept the draft.”
Barzani did not disclose further details of the agreement, and no other officials discussed them publicly.
Spokesmen for the Kurdish regional government and Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih said they had no information on the reported deal.
The Kurdish minister of natural resources declined to discuss the issue.
Read the rest here.
