Drastically: the enactment of the oil and gas key to resolving the outstanding issues between Baghdad and Erbil

[3:42] 13/Jul/11



Erbil, July 11 (PNA) - Minister of Natural Resources in the Kurdistan region, Ashti Hawrami that the rights of the oil companies operating in the region exceeded $ 3.5 billion. He stressed the importance of the enactment of the oil and gas, oil reserves estimated in the three Kurdish governorates of more than 45 billion barrels.



Hawrami said in an interview with the newspaper Al-Hayat that negotiations with Baghdad will be in accordance with the law which determines the financial dues to the Kurdistan region of federal revenues. He said that «the Baghdad provincial government reported earlier this year that the companies invested request more than $ 3.5 billion and this constitutional entitlements. He denied accusations of Baghdad province to export crude oil without coordination with the Centre, adding that «it is under an agreement with Baghdad to export our production requirement of deduction of 50 percent of its imports to pay dues companies and the other half goes to the state treasury but what happened that was captured on each Imports ».



And rejected rumors of smuggling and said «there is no smuggling of oil do not accept these accusations cheap and what was his claim is a legal entitlement and came because we Mnanahm from grabbing it. He criticized the current method for the management of the country's imports, which «is still the way the wealth of the former regime and laws imposed on us by force from the federal government, and demanded the central government to 55 million barrels not Ntzlmh of fuel for domestic consumption from 2004 to 2012.



Hawrami stressed the need to «the enactment of the oil and gas, and expressed his belief that the law, which seek to pass according to the constitution will be the key for all the contentious issues between the two sides in the oil sector.



Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said during a joint press conference with the region's president, Massoud Barzani, last Sunday «not confirmed the existence of differences between the federal government and the provincial government, but the difference in views regarding the Constitution. Hawrami continued that «most of the differences arising from non-political application of the Constitution in relation to the distribution of proceeds.



Article 112 of the Iraqi constitution that «The federal government manages oil and gas extracted from current fields with the governments of the producing regions and provinces, to be distributed and imports fairly commensurate with the population distribution with a quota for a certain period of the affected provinces. The article stressed that «the paint federal government and the governments of the producing regions and provinces together draw the necessary strategic policies to develop oil and gas wealth, so as to achieve the highest benefit to the Iraqi people.



Hawrami played down the importance of the pressure exerted by Baghdad on oil companies operating in the region to discourage them from the implementation of the contracts. He pointed out that «this does not affect the work of these companies and is ready to continue despite the delay in payment of their dues.



He estimated crude oil reserves in the Kurdistan region except Kurdish areas outside the region of 45 billion barrels can be increased while preliminary estimates indicate gas to 100 or 200 trillion cubic meters.



And plans for his ministry to raise the production during the coming period, he said: «The production target of 2015 million barrels per day until it reaches in 2019 to two million barrels per day, either filter crude and produce hydrocarbons Vmtouka have to rise to 150 thousand barrels per day and can be up to 250 thousand».


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