INTRODUCTION

The two preceding chapters focused on the background regarding Iraqi oil and gas, and the relevant provisions of the Iraqi Constitution. The matter of background included both the historical and factual context, as well as the legal situation involving oil and gas immediately prior to the resumption of Iraqi self-governance. In terms of the relevant provisions of the Iraqi Constitution, Chapter 2 concentrated on sketching the basic structure of the oil and gas provisions of the Constitution, examining the question of subcentral governmental power to enter into oil and gas development activities, addressing the matter of revenue sharing, and dealing with the distinction between so-called present and future fields. In this chapter, attention will be devoted exclusively to the matter of the current public version of the federal oil and gas framework law and the legislative responses of subcentral governmental authorities, in particular that of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

The examination of the federal oil and gas framework law and the Kurdish government's regional response to it proceeds by initially taking up the essential structure and contours of the relevant legislative measures, contrasting them with earlier draft proposals. Next, it concentrates on outlining the basic provisions of the measures and follows this with a lengthy discussion of those provisions most relevant to the oil and gas industry.