Eric Watkins
Senior Correspondent
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 8 -- Disagreement over the development of Iraq's oil and gas persists between the country's central government in Baghdad and the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), as both sides continue to insist on their respective rights.
Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani said he will lead a delegation to Baghdad in the next 2 days for talks with the central government over the country's draft oil law, among other topics.
Mahmud Uthman of the Kurdistan Alliance said the delegation will hold talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on the status of the Oil and Gas Law, as well as recent and pending contracts KRG signed with international oil companies.
KRG Oil Minister Ashti Hawrami told an oil conference in London that the Kurds have not made any decision to stop signing new contracts with foreign firms, despite threats from the central government to block oil exports as a result of disputes over the legality of KRG contracts.
"Talks with other firms are still under way," said Hawrami.
Meanwhile, reaffirming that the KRG oil contracts are illegal, Iraqi Oil Minister Husayn al-Shahrastani has threatened to blacklist international oil firms if they sign them.
In a published interview, Al-Shahrastani dismissed Kurdish aspirations by saying Iraq has lost decades of opportunities and wasted a year discussing the draft Oil and Gas law.
He noted that the government has decided to expedite the rehabilitation of oil wells, adding that the exact specifications required for developing oil wells in the long run have not yet been approved.
Al-Shahrastani also said a good contract that would give the Iraqi government full ownership and control over the country's oil will be designed to encourage international oil companies to introduce technology and provide financial resources to his country.
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