Kurdistan Government to explain their view about the Draft Oil Law in London

The Kurdistan Regional Government is the de facto Governing body in Northern Iraq, as such they played a part in agreeing to the Iraqi draft oil law agreed in February.

The KRG published both Engish and Arabic copies of the law which they describe as authorised. KRG Natural Resources Minister Dr. Ashti Hawrami.

“Old and inaccurate translations of this vital draft law have been circulating in the media in recent weeks. By publishing the original Arabic and the authoritative English translation together, we hope to make the picture clearer for potential investors in Iraq.”

Dr. Hawrami represents the KRG on the Oil and Energy Committee.English version Arabic Version PDF alert !

The draft law has many companion laws and annexes, which have not been fully revealed and now the KRG are holding a seminar on Thursday 22nd March to provide some explanation of the law and how it is expected to work. This will last from 10.30 until 2.00 and include a short lunch.

KRG Minister for Natural Resources and a KRG Spokesman will present a brief account of the main points in the draft oil law and the annexes, in addition to a longer presentation of the main ideas expected to be in the draft revenue sharing law. (which is of course, the bit they all get excited about ...naturally)

There will also be a chance to examine model contracts, guidelines, and business opportunities in the Kurdistan Region and to ask questions.

You can invite yourself by applying to spokesman@krg.org but need to have a direct interest either through the media , energy industry, lawyers or diplomat or academic with interests in the region.

The picture shows Masoud Barzani, President of the Kurdistan Region, meeting King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques in Riyadh. This was shortly after Iraq reopened its embassy in Riyadh on February 14th , which had been shut since December 1990, just before the 1st Gulf War got under way.