New Iraqi coalition to discuss drafting oil, gas law: Official

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Sunnis, Kurds, and pro-Iran Coordination Framework are working towards forming a coalition that will draft a long-anticipated oil and gas law agreed upon by the Iraqi and Kurdish governments, the second deputy speaker of Iraq’s parliament told Rudaw on Monday as the body prepares to convene.

The framework is close to announcing a coalition with the two main Kurdish political parties and the Sunnis to expedite the government formation process as s the legislature approaches its one-year mark without a cabinet. 

Shakhawan Abdullah told Rudaw's Sangar Abdulrahman that the agreement between the parties of the coalition, reportedly named “Running the State Coalition,” stipulates that an oil and gas law “must” be drafted.

“The constitution rules on the topic of oil [and gas] … the oil and gas law between the federal government and the regional government will be drafted with an agreement," Abdullah said while stressing that the law will be drafted with a “complete agreement so that one political side does not possess greater influence.”

The Iraqi Federal Supreme Court ruled against the Kurdistan Region's oil and gas law in mid-February, claiming that it was "unconstitutional", hence striking down the independence of the Kurdistan Region's oil and gas sector and putting its industry in jeopardy.

Abdullah said that the top court’s ruling against the Region's oil and gas law will serve as a "boost" for drafting the oil and gas law.

The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) demands the new Iraqi government to address the oil and gas law and other issues related to Kurdish rights, MP Sherwan Dubardani told Rudaw's Nazanin Goran on Monday.

On Wednesday, the US called on Iraq and the Kurdistan Region to work together to address ongoing oil and gas disputes, saying the solution to the dispute must come internally without any foreign interference. 

Iraq's parliament is expected to convene on Wednesday in its first meeting since June 23. The legislative body suspended its session on July 30 after supporters of powerful Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr stormed the legislature building and demanded the dissolution of parliament and the holding of early elections.

The session will be the first after weeks-long protests and political tensions across Iraq. MPs are expected to vote on the resignation of Parliamentary Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi’s resignation, the meeting’s agenda showed.