Not legal: say lawmakers of recent deals in Iraq
Iraqi MPs brand oil deals 'illegal'
A handful of lawmakers from the Iraqi parliament's oil and gas committee have questioned the legality of oil development deals signed last week with BP, ExxonMobil, and other big oil companies.
The Wall Street Journal said the opposition is not likely to derail the agreement, but it raises the spectere of fresh political uncertainty for foreign oil executives, who have just recently warmed to the idea of investing in Iraq's vast but undertapped oilfields.
Last week, the Iraqi Oil Ministry signed initial deals with consortia led by ExxonMobil and Eni, along with a final agreement with a consortium headed by BP and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).
Yesterday, Noor Adin al-Hadyi, a member of the oil and gas committee, said those contracts needed approval by parliament, where a broad petroleum law has long been held off.
The Oil Ministry fashioned the current contracts as limited, service-oriented deals to avoid having to gain parliamentary approval, the Wall Street Journal report said, adding that Iraq's current government gave the move the go-ahead.
But Hadyi said the committee could decide to take the issue to court to ask that the contracts be cancelled.
"This is a warning to the companies that the contracts they signed are illegal," the newspaper quoted Haydi telling a news conference.
Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani and Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh have both recently repeated their assertions that the contracts are legal without parliamentary approval.
The companies have said they considered their contracts to be valid, because they were signed during an Iraqi government-approved process. The agreements involving ExxonMobil and Eni still need final approval from the Iraqi Cabinet.
There was some parliamentary opposition in the lead-up to Iraq's first oil licensing round last June.
But since then, criticism has been eclipsed by other parliamentary battles, including one over election legislation ahead of polls due in January.
Iraq will hold a second bid round in December for 10 oil and gas fields. ExxonMobil, Lukoil, CNPC and other oil giants are among the more than 40 companies that are eligible to take part in that auction.