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'November 29, 2011 - Iraq: Maliki, US embassy and

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Iraq: Maliki, US embassy and KRG oil contracts

TacticalReport: Iraq: Maliki, US embassy and KRG oil contracts

'November 29, 2011 - Iraq: Maliki, US embassy and KRG oil contracts

Reports from Baghdad suggest that US Ambassador to Baghdad James Jeffrey told Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiar Zibari that the US Administration is intent on announcing a clear official position regarding the oil contracts that are signed between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and foreign oil and gas companies.

According to these reports, the US position is likely to be announced before the end of the year and to mention the US interests in Iraq and in the KRG-controlled area in northern Iraq.
The same reports add that the US embassy in Baghdad is in permanent contact on the issue with major US oil companies active in Iraq, including notably ExxonMobil, Chevron and Occidental Petroleum.

Kurdish sources following the contacts between the KRG and the US embassy in Baghdad say that the latter asked the US oil and gas companies to wait at least two months to become much more able to look for oil investments in any region of Iraq without obstacles from the side of the central government in Baghdad.

The same sources add in this context that the central government in Baghdad will sign an agreement with the US Administration in the coming two months, whereby the US companies can benefit from the Kurdish offers without any opposition from Baghdad.

Meanwhile, Al-Maliki will work to get the draft oil and gas law passed by the Iraqi Parliament