MP calls to deal with blacklisted oil firms

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Oil investment companies listed in the Iraqi Oil Ministry’s blacklist should be allowed to enter the permissions second round, an Iraqi lawmaker of the Unified Iraqi Alliance (UIA) said on Thursday, referring to around 26 firms that signed oil contracts directly with the Kurdistan regional cabinet. “I call to reconsider our stance regarding these companies,” Abdilhadi al-Hassani, who is also a member of the Iraqi parliament’s oil and gas committee, told IraqiNews.com news agency. “This step is important to develop our oil fields and to unify our revenues,” he said. For his part, Assim Jihad, the Oil Ministry’s official spokesperson, said that those companies can join the permissions second round “on the condition that they apologize, respect regulations of the Iraqi federal Oil Ministry, and being totally ready to commit to the Iraqi constitution and law.” “A similar case with a South Korean firm was solved in this way,” Jihad said. MH (P)/SR 1