Iraq Oil Wealth Distribution Planned

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraqi legislation intended to resolve the politically charged question of distributing the country's oil wealth is nearing completion, the chairman of a panel drafting the law said Saturday.

The distribution of oil revenues, the mainstay of Iraq's economy, is at the heart of some of Iraq's most contentious political issues, including the push by Shiite leaders to allow the oil-rich south of Iraq to set up a self-rule region a similar to a Kurdish one in the north.

"We have reached important agreements. I cannot put a timeframe on when it will be ready, but we are very keen on achieving that as soon as possible," Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh, a Kurd who chairs the committee, said. "We hope that we will reach a comprehensive agreement that will enhance the oil sector and make oil a unifying factor to all Iraqis."

He said, however, that key issues still need to be resolved, including "the administration of the oil sector, deals and contracts."

Underlining the sensitivities involved, Nechirvan Barzani, the Kurdish region's prime minister, said Thursday that talks he held with the Baghdad government this month failed to produce an agreement on his demands for control of oil resources in the region.

"We demand that the signing of contracts to develop oil fields in Kurdistan should be handled by the Kurdistan region," he said, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

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