| 2007: Parliament approves oil refineries investment law |
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7/25/07 The Iraqi parliament approved on Tuesday the draft oil refineries investment law during the session chaired by the first Deputy Speaker Khaled al-Attiyah. The law came within a string of draft laws presented to the parliament, which try to finish voting them before the summer recess. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki called on the parliament last Saturday to cancel the recess or decrease it to vote the pending draft laws, including the draft oil and gas law, in addition to the possible ministerial reshuffle. The Iraqi House of Representatives will go on a month-long-vacation as early as August. The law, voted by the House of Representatives on Tuesday, aims at encouraging the private sector to take part in the industrial sector through granting Iraqi and foreign companies the right to establish oil refineries in Iraq with its own capital. The companies, according to the law, have to appoint 75% of the workforce from the Iraqi people in the project. The companies also will lay pipelines, while the Iraqi oil ministry will set up checkpoints to monitor and protect these pipelines. According to the approved law, the companies have to make and submit reports on its work to the ministry. They have also the right to lease lands to set up refineries. Iraq sits on the world's third-largest oil reserves and officials have sought, since last year, to finalize the draft law. The law is vital for attracting foreign investment to Iraq, to boost its oil output and rebuild its economy. The oil ministry will monitor the companies' works through a committee, composed of representatives from a number of ministries, chaired by a senior official from the oil ministry. Source: VOI |