Turkey, Iraq and US to meet on Iraq oil

01-03-07

Turkey's energy minister said Ankara was asked for help developing oil in northern Iraq and will meet with US and Iraq officials this month.
But Hilmi Guler said the negotiations will be with the central Iraqi government, not the Kurdish leaders that control the oil rich north and are at odds with Turkey.

The meeting this month will be the first step in talks on developing Iraq's northern oil.
Investment in Iraq's oil sector will be governed by a hydrocarbons law that has been approved by the Iraqi cabinet but hasn't reached the Parliament yet. Negotiations have been heated and took nearly a year. At issue is who has control over development, the regions or the central government.

The meetings, which will take place in Turkey, were instigated by Iraqi officials, Guler said. Turkey has said it could invade Kurdistan if the Kurdistan Regional Government attempts to break away from the rest of Iraq. Turkey, along with Iran and Syria, fear an Iraqi Kurdish move would empower their Kurdishpopulations.
Iraq has 115 bn barrels of proven oil reserves, of which the KRG controls a large share, though not the majority. Turkey is deciding whether to form diplomatic relations with the KRG.
 

Source: www.earthtimes.org / UPI