Iraqi News Tuesday Evening 7-19-22
TLM724 Administrator BondLady’s Corner
French Report: A Political Agreement And A Flexible Law Are Enough To Solve The Oil Crisis Between Baghdad And Erbil
Energy Economy News _ Baghdad A press report, Tuesday, shed light on the nature of the oil disputes between the federal government and the Kurdistan region, in conjunction with the intensification of political skirmishes between the two parties. The following is the text of the report published by Agence France-Presse and followed by “Economy News”:
“Oil and its revenues have returned to a point of contention between the federal government and the Kurdistan region, while these current tensions resulting from endless political skirmishes threaten to weaken the desire of foreign investors to head to Iraq.
Since the beginning of the year, strained relations between the autonomous Kurdistan region and Baghdad have manifested in the judiciary.
Erbil believes that the central government is seeking to put its hand on the region’s oil wealth, while Baghdad demands that it have its say in managing the oil resources that are extracted from Kurdistan.
Iraq is the second largest oil country in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and it exports an average of 3.3 million barrels of crude oil per day. As for Kurdistan, it produces more than 450 thousand barrels per day.
It is impossible to understand this dispute between the two parties without returning to the political crisis that has paralyzed Iraq since the legislative elections in October 2021. Political leaders in the region, as in Baghdad, are unable to agree on the name of a new prime minister and president of the republic.
Researcher Bilal Wahhab of The Washington Institute for Near East Policy believes that “with regard to the oil file, each of the two sides uses the carrot and stick method, and this depends on the prevailing political atmosphere.”
“When there was a political agreement, the courts remained silent. The opposite happened when the disputes started,” he added.
In February, the Federal Supreme Court in Baghdad ordered the Kurdistan region to hand over oil produced on its territory to the central government, giving Baghdad the right to review and cancel oil contracts with the region.
And the Federal Court considered that a law passed in Kurdistan in 2007 to regulate the oil and gas sector was contrary to the constitution.
Since then, the Iraqi government has been trying to implement this decision.
“reputation”
At the invitation of the Ministry of Oil, a court in Baghdad in early July canceled four contracts between the Kurdistan region and Canadian, American, British and Norwegian companies.
It is also possible that the cancellation will affect three other foreign companies, whose decision is expected to be decided by the same court, as a senior official in the oil sector in Baghdad warned in an interview with Agence France-Presse, preferring to remain anonymous.
Yasar Al-Maliki, an economist in the Middle East Economic Survey MEES, considers that “when Baghdad expels foreign oil companies from Iraqi Kurdistan, this does not give Iraq the image of an important oil producer, which welcomes foreign investment.”
The Kurdistan region wants to open the door to negotiations in order to preserve its independence in the field of oil. And he is working to establish two companies concerned with oil exploration and marketing, working in partnership with Baghdad, and this proposal was presented to the federal government, according to a spokesman for the local government in Erbil.
However, in early June, the region initiated two judicial moves, one of which targets Oil Minister Ihsan Ismail, whom Erbil accuses of trying to “intimidate” foreign companies operating in Kurdistan, according to a statement.
Bilal Wahhab believes that the two parties do not realize to what extent they “damage the public reputation of the Iraqi energy sector.”
He adds that “the status of the sanctity of contracts is under question…adds legal risks to other organizational and governance risks that Iraq suffers from,” adding that the dispute between the two parties “repels foreign investments that Iraq badly needs.”
In a victory for Baghdad, Schlumberger, Baker Hughes, and Halliburton announced that they would not “apply for new projects in the Kurdistan region in compliance with the decision of the Federal Court.” It added that it “is now in the process of liquidating and closing the existing tenders and contracts.”
Settlement
Relations between Baghdad and the Kurdistan region, which has been autonomous since 1991, are witnessing constant fluctuation.
Theoretically, the Kurdistan region was supposed to deliver 250,000 barrels of oil per day to be exported from Baghdad, in return for a share of the general budget paid as salaries for government employees and other expenses. But Erbil never delivered the oil, and payments from Baghdad were not regular
In recent weeks, missile attacks, not claimed by any party, targeted oil or gas sites in the region. Experts see this as an attempt to put more pressure on the Kurdistan Democratic Party, which is in power in Erbil, given that the dispute over the oil file is closely linked to the political crisis.
The Kurdistan Democratic Party seeks to obtain the presidency of the republic, which is usually held by its political opponents from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.
Yasar al-Maliki explains that “the sequence of events shows that this crisis began when the Kurdistan Democratic Party brought the Sadrist movement closer to confronting the coordinating framework,” referring to an alliance that brings together several Shiite parties.
But “Iraq is a country based on compromises,” according to al-Maliki.
In order to end the oil dispute with Erbil, al-Maliki believes that the best solution is a “political agreement” that guarantees Baghdad’s adoption of a “flexible” law regulating the management of the oil file.
The expert adds that “pending this, the decision of the Federal Supreme Court will remain as a sword for Kurdistan.”
Views 85 Added 07/19/2022 – 11:35 AM Update 07/19/2022 – 4:38 PM
https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=28950
Saleh: The Idea OfConverting 4 Ministries To A Self-Financing System Needs Legal Amendment
Money and business Economy News _ Baghdad The financial advisor to the Prime Minister, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, confirmed today, Tuesday, that the idea of converting 4 ministries to the self-financing system needs a legal amendment.
Saleh said in an interview with “Al-Sabah” newspaper, which was seen by “Economy News”, that “the idea ofconverting 4 ministries into a context that is somewhat similar to self-financing, needs a major legal amendment, because the budget and exchange units are completely central.”
And he indicated that “the idea put forward by Counselor Haitham al-Jubouri is to convert some ministries into revenue, and these revenues cover current operational expenses, as the operational aspect includes current expenses that include employment and salaries.”
He explained that “the current budget has two parts: the first is to operate the administration of the public office and its costs, and the other part is salaries and wages, and the latter is paid into the federal general budget through the operating budget that pays salaries, wages and the cost of operating the budget, which is called, according to the financial literature, the current budget.”
Saleh reiterated that “the proposed idea needs a legal amendment to transform these ministries into revenue ministries, meaning that their services are paid for as if they are a private sector, and this collection pays as salaries to its employees and covers its expenses instead of taking fees and taxes that go as central revenues, and therefore it will be a decentralized revenue, and this ( A hybrid context) because we have self-financing units that are subject to quasi-market rules governed by the provisions of the Public Companies Law No. 21 of 1997 and that these companies make profits that are costs and revenue and work on a revenue-equivalent point that covers the costs with everything in it, so this pattern is called (hybrid public finance) You need to amend a law that entails rights and duties related to retirement and others that reduce public revenues as a cost.
92 . views Added 07/19/2022 – 10:40 AM Update 07/19/2022 – 4:37 PM
https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=28948
The Appearance Of Muhammad Salih To / Nina /: The Stability And Reconstruction Of Iraq Is A Necessary And Sufficient Condition For Stability And Development In The Region
Tuesday 19 July 2022 10:53 | Economic Number of readings: 286 Baghdad / NINA / – The financial expert, advisor to the Prime Minister, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, confirmed that the stability and reconstruction of Iraq are a necessary and sufficient condition for stability and development in the region in general.
He told the National Iraqi News Agency ( NINA ) that the success of the Jeddah summit came with a speech calling for stability and away from provocation, which is an important focus for cooperation and building the foundations for joint development and regional stability.
Saleh added that the economic development in Iraq is important in the stability and prosperity of the region, especially since Iraq has become the cornerstone, and there is no stability without it.
He explained that Iraq, with its important location, represents the bond of stability between the Arab region and the non-Arab region, and it has an active role in laying the foundations for stability./End 3
https://ninanews.com/Website/News/Details?Key=988405
Nechirvan Barzani Discusses With The French Ambassador The Efforts To Choose The President Of The Republic
Tuesday, 19 July 2022 4:32 PM National News Center/ Baghdad The President of the Kurdistan Region, Nechirvan Barzani, discussed today, Tuesday, with the French Ambassador to Iraq Eric Chevalier, efforts to choose the President of the Republic and form the government.
The Presidency of the Region said in a statement received by the National News Center that “Barzani received Chevalier and discussed” the latest developments in the political and security situation in Iraq and efforts to choose the President of the Republic and the formation of the next Iraqi federal government, in addition to Erbil-Baghdad relations, and facing the dangers posed by ISIS, especially in the regions. covered by Article 140 of the Constitution, as well as developments in the Sinjar region, the situation in the Kurdistan Region and the upcoming parliamentary elections.”
The French ambassador affirmed his country’s interest in developing relations with Iraq and the region, pointing to the necessity and importance of Iraq’s security and stability in preserving the stability of the region as a whole.
For his part, Barzani reiterated that “the solution to the problems of Erbil – Baghdad represents the key to the security and stability of Iraq, and he considered it necessary that there be a mechanism for dialogue and a solution to the outstanding problems between the two parties.”
The two sides agreed, according to the statement, on “the necessity and importance of continuing cooperation and coordination between the Peshmerga and the Iraqi army, with the support of the international coalition forces, in confronting the threats and danger of ISIS, especially in the areas of Article 140 of the constitution.”
The statement pointed out that the meeting also discussed “the situation in the region in general, efforts to stabilize the global energy market, the status and importance of the Middle East in this context, the Kurdistan Region’s relations with the countries of the region, in addition to other issues of common concern.” https://nnciraq.com/141696/
Results Of The Foreign Currency Sale Window Wednesday 20/7/2022
Advertisement No. (4686) Sale date – Wednesday 7/20/2022 the details the amount
Total sale for the purposes of strengthening balances abroad (remittances, credits) 216,996,000
Total cash sale 51,350,000 total total sales 268,346,000
Note that: The selling price of the amounts transferred to bank accounts abroad is ( 1460 ) dinars per dollar. The cash sale price is ( 1460 ) dinars per dollar.
» The Central Bank of Iraq’s foreign currency sales schedule, Wed 20/7/2022 https://cbi.iq/currency_auction
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