Printer-friendly VersionThe Kurdish Globe
Iraqi Oil Minister says the oil contracts that his ministry recently signed with foreign companies do not need Parliament approval.
Hussein Balo, the head of the Oil and Gas Committee in Iraqi Parliament, revealed that Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki sent a secret and personal letter to the Parliament Speaker. "The Oil and Gas Committee received a personal and secret letter from Nuri Al-Maliki sent to the Parliament's presidency. The Prime Minister, in his letter, accuses the committee and members who want to question Oil Minister Hussein Al-Shahristani of hampering oil investment plans in the country," said Balo
Furthermore, Balo pointed out that there is an agreement between Maliki and Parliament speaker Iyad Samaraie to hinder any questioning of Shahristani.
For his part, Balo has accused the Prime Minister of hampering Parliament works. "What the Iraqi Prime Minister is doing is against all his promises to combat corruption in the country," he said.
A number of MPs have summoned Shahristani to be questioned about his performance and the legitimacy of the contacts he signed with a number of foreign oil companies. The MPs said if they are not satisfied with Shahristani's answers, they will gather petitions to lift his immunity.
Iraq formally signed a deal with Britain's BP and China's CNPC on Tuesday to almost triple production in a giant southern oilfield. "The two companies will invest $50 billion in the project," Shahristani told reporters.
The 20-year contract is expected to boost production at the Rumaila field from the current 1 million barrels per day (bpd) to around 2.8 million bpd within its first six years, the minister said.
Rumaila is already integral to Iraq's oil output, contributing almost half of the nation's current production of around 2.5 million bpd, and is estimated to hold further reserves of 17.7 billion barrels.
In return for their enormous investment, BP and CNPC have agreed to accept payment of $2 per additional barrel produced at Rumaila. "We have shown we can attract international companies to invest in Iraq and boost production through service contracts," Shahristani said. "They will not have a share of Iraqi oil and our country will have total control over production?."
Moreover, he added that the contracts do not need Parliament's agreement. "They [the contracts] only need the conformity of the council of ministries," he noted.
Regarding the MPs' statements concerning the contracts, he said: "Their statements are politically motivated and I am not ready to answer them."