The first step was taken in late August in an attempt to resolve the five-year deadlock over the Federal Oil and Gas Law (FOGL). Following consultations between Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Husain al-Shahristani and House Speaker Usama al-Nujaifi, a 12-member joint parliamentary committee was formed from members of the Energy and Legislative Committees selected on the basis of “political affiliation”: four from al-’Iraqiya, six from the National Alliance and two from the Kurdistan Alliance.
Mr ‘Adnan al-Janabi (al-’Iraqiya), chairman of parliament’s Energy Committee, was appointed to head the committee. Two weeks later, a six-member committee was formed to review the “three different versions of FOGL” and to decide which version parliament would use as the starting point for its debate on the law. The chairman of the six-member committee is the First Deputy Speaker of the House, Mr Qusay al-Suhail (Sadrist), the other members being the Federal Oil Minister, the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) Natural Resources Minister and parliamentary deputies from each of the three main political blocks. (CONTINUED - 998 WORDS)
