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Iraqi Provinces Consider More Autonomy in Managing Oil Wealth

An Iraqi researcher suggests that provinces across the country producing oil take advantage of the autonomy provided by amendments to the provincial administration laws.
A worker adjusts a pipe at the Nassiriya oilfield in Nassiriya, 300km (185 miles) southeast of Baghdad,September 8, 2012. Production from Iraq's southern oilfields is at 2.5 million barrels per day as the country edges closer to becoming the world's biggest source of new supplies over the next few years, a senior Iraqi oil official said. Picture taken September 8, 2012. REUTERS/Atef Hassan (IRAQ - Tags: ENERGY BUSINESS) - RTR37U0U
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An Iraqi researcher has advised the councils of oil- and gas-producing provinces to take advantage of a loophole in the new amendment to the provincial law recently passed by the Iraqi parliament in order to “issue a law of oil and gas specific to each province, and repeal, retroactively cancel and renegotiate the Oil Ministry contracts (service contracts) in compliance with the choices and priorities of each province.”

The Iraqi parliament voted on June 23, on the second amendment of the Law of Provinces not associated in a region, Law No. 21 for 2008. According to several MPs, this law “addresses the overlap between the powers of local governments and the central government, gives broad legislative and regulatory powers to the provinces and will have a positive impact on all provinces.”

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