Iraq's hotly debated draft oil law was to be sent to parliament next week, the country's oil minister said on Wednesday. Hussain al-Shahristani, who was attending an oil conference in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, did not give a specific day but said the measure would go to lawmakers before the next week was out. In Baghdad, oil ministry spokesman Assem Jihad told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that the draft law would be in front of the legislature "within the coming few days if everything goes well." "The draft is with the State Shura Council now to be put in a legal form after being written in technical language," Jihad said. "We are expecting to take no more than two months to discuss it inside the parliament... between one and two months it depends on the parliament," Jihad added.
The Iraqi oil legislation, which was endorsed by the cabinet last February, will open the door for the government to sign contracts for exploration and production of the country's vast untapped reserves. It was designed to create a fair distribution of oil profits to all Iraqis and it is perhaps the most important piece of legislation for Iraq's American patrons. Passage of the law, thought to have been written with heavy U.S. involvement, is one of four benchmarks the Bush administration has set for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's struggling government.