Op-Ed: Assessment of the oil and gas contracts in Iraq

By AHMED M. JIYADThis brief assessment is primarily based on the text of the "Model" Oil and Gas Service Development and Production Contracts relating to the first bidding round due for announcement on 29th and 30th June 2009.Matters of LegalityI have argued during the last two years that the "executive branch", i.e., the Council of Ministers (CoM) and Ministry of Oil (MoO) are not constitutionally empowered to "enter into force" such contracts, and only the Parliament/Council of Re...