By SAMEER N. YACOUB, Associated Press Writer 23 minutes ago
BAGHDAD - Kurdish lawmakers plan to oppose U.S.-backed legislation to regulate Iraq's oil industry, claiming the government is seeking a greater voice in revitalizing one of OPEC's former heavyweight producers, a Kurdish official said Monday.
Kurds hold 58 of the 275 parliament seats — not enough to defeat the measure on their own. But Kurdish objections could delay passage of the bill, whose ratification has been strongly urged by the White House and senior U.S. military officials as a major step toward national reconciliation.
In February, the Kurdish bloc agreed to support the draft bill, which would distribute oil revenues among Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds. The measure was endorsed by the Iraqi Cabinet, but without some technical provisions.
Kurdish spokesman Khalid Saleh said those put almost 93 percent of Iraq's oil reserves under control of the state-owned Iraq National Oil Co. He claimed that would give the government a stronger role in deciding oil contracts than set out in the draft bill, which gave the Kurdish regional authorities the right to negotiate and sign preliminary contracts with oil companies.
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