Overview of regulatory framework in Iraq

Iraq's oil and gas industry operates under the framework laid out by the 2005 Constitution. However while the constitutional document makes clear that the Iraqi people are the ultimate owners of the country's natural resources, there is less explicit clarification over the question of jurisdiction over hydrocarbon exploration and development between the central government and the regions.

A new hydrocarbons law intended to create a more stable investment regime remained stalled in parliament as of 2012, and in the meantime the federal system of resource development (using technical service contracts) co-exists with the Kurdistan Regional Government's approach (preferring production sharing agreements), which are contested by central government.

The northern Kurds have pursued an independent oil policy and took an important step towards that end by drafting their own oil law in 2007.

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