Thamir Ghadhban, Iraq's oil minister, is right about the main differences threatening the all-but-scuttled Oil Law. At least as best I can tell, they're not about disproportionate profits for foreign companies — they're about revenue sharing within Iraq. However, the bit in bold from this interview should be seen as priority one before any resolution of divvying up the petrodollars is even presented:
Q: Speaking of something less friendly is the interaction between the oil minister and the oil unions. Obviously there are a lot of politics involved. Can you explain the sense from your point of view what’s going on with that dispute? A: I’m not really, directly involved in this matter, OK. I worked in Basra for 16 years and I know those people. I know most of them if not all of them, they are sincere people, they are dedicated, they work hard and they contributed and they mean well. Of course there is no law right now making it legal to form, to organize labor organizations or societies. But in the constitution it preserves this right. I am of the opinion that we should hear there grievances and their opinion. When I was in charge I met them. Even when I was chief executive officer of the ministry during 2003 after the fall of the regime they sent people they came to Baghdad and I talked with them, I listened to them and so on and I’m of this opinion, of course the minister has the right to take whatever he thinks right about the decisions, no doubt about that, but also I think it is wise of labor organization not to go into political issues. I believe they should concentrate on their social issues, their rights to improve the conditions of the workers in Basra. But also if they have an opinion regarding the oil law it should be based on the oil law, it should not be based on rumors and so on. I remember seeing a video by (Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions President) Hassan Jumaa and I found him a very serious person, sincere and he was polite. He expressed his opinion. I didn’t see a problem with that really. Q: You’re saying that their analysis of the oil law is wrong, is that what you’re saying? A: I didn’t say that, I don’t mean that. We actually heard and read and saw people talking about the law and without knowing what the law is about. It’s not their domain, it’s not their profession. People talking about PSAs and people converting it from a comprehensive law into whether we have a PSA or not. And there will be a rip off of the Iraq oil wealth. This is completely nonsense. Or that 70 percent of the profit will go to the foreign company, again this is completely nonsense. The law as it is, although we have differences and the differences are basically on the power of the authorities, whether it should be a centralized form of law or whether it is a sharing between the regional governments and the federal government. These are the main actual differences here. And of course we had lots of differences while we were debating the law. And we arrived at the consensus and of course still many of us are not happy at what we arrived at but this is now the prevailing conditions in Iraq and the prevailing wisdom in Iraq and after all no law is really gospel truth. It is subject to amendments in the future and what I drive to is I really advise that labor unions work and concentrate on its priorities as normally the priorities of such societies is to improve and fight for their member rights, but they have the right to express an opinion, especially on laws affecting their life.
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