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Parliament wants role in Iraqi oil deals

The new chairman of the Parliament Oil and Energy Committee said all of Baghdad's contracts – past and future – should be reviewed, perhaps altered.
A worker adjusts the valve of an oil pipe at West Qurna oilfield in Iraq's southern province of Basra November 28, 2010.(ATEF HASSAN/Reuters)

Iraq’s Parliament is attempting to claim some authority over the country’s oil sector – showing a willingness to challenge Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s administration, which has sought to centralize control of Iraq’s energy policy within the executive branch.

Adnan Janabi, the new chairman the Oil and Energy Committee of Parliament, said standing law requires oil and gas contracts to be approved by Parliament, including deals already awarded in the licensing rounds and a draft joint venture with Royal Dutch Shell to capture natural gas.

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