Douglas Mutumba Block Quote Exercise

Exercise 5.2
Only two articles of the Constitution contain provisions that deal with Iraq's natural resources, and by extension, its oil and gas reserves: articles 111 and 112.

Article 111 of the Constitution states:

Oil and gas are owned by all the people of Iraq in all the regions and governates.

Hence, the ownership of any particular resource is not attributed to any particular group or geographical or political region.

Article 112 of the Constitution states:

First: The federal government, with the producing governorates and regional governments, shall undertake the management of oil and gas extracted from present fields, provided that it distributes its revenues in a fair manner in proportion to the population distribution in all parts of the country, specifying an allotment for a specified period for the damaged regions which were unjustly deprived of them by the former regime, and the regions that were damaged afterwards in a way that ensures balanced development in different areas of the country, and this shall be regulated by a law.

Second: The federal government, with the producing regional and governorate governments, shall together formulate the necessary strategic policies to develop the oil and gas wealth in a way that achieves the highest benefit to the Iraqi people using the most advanced techniques of the market principles and encouraging investment.

Hence, because the term "present fields" is not defined, it remains unclear whether it includes fields that are only currently producing or if it extends to other fields. Similarly, whether the currently producing fields include partially developed fields also remains unclear.

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