Iraqi Kurds demand say over northern oilfields

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By Khaled Yacoub Oweis
1 hour, 16 minutes ago

AMMAN (Reuters) - Iraq's Kurds want at least partial control over northern oil resources in a post-war political system that ends uneven distribution of wealth, Planning Minister Barham Salih said on Friday.

The Kurds, who emerged as a powerful faction in postwar Iraq along with the Shi'ite majority, are lobbying for a new constitution being drafted to allow all provinces, including southern oil centers, to participate in oil decision making, Salih, who is a leading Kurdish politician, told Reuters.

If this succeeds, foreign oil firms will have to negotiate about developing fields in the country with the second largest reserves in the world with provincial governments eager to raise their share of oil revenue, as well as with central government.

"We call for allowing the provinces to participate in managing the oil sector because the strict central system of managing it has proved its failure," said Salih, who was in Amman after meeting British Prime Minister Tony Blair in London.

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