Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh of Iraq said that Iraq's emergence as a "secure petro democracy" could suppress sectarian violence and called for partnerships with international companies to boost the country's oil industry.
He conceded that disputes between local officials and the central government over who controls oil proceeds were one of many obstacles to making improvements but said he hoped that oil would be a "unifying force for Iraqis rather than a resource to fight over."
Saleh is aware that foreign oil companies are needed to modernize Iraq's oil sector and meet the country's goal of doubling current crude production. The absence of legal framework governing investments and ownership of oil resources has hampered foreign investments.
Big oil companies are willing to send crews for exploration and pumping to Iraq depite the insurgency and attacks on oil workers as long as there are legal ground rules for their participation.
Iraq is on the way to ushering in a hydrocarbon law that could bring in investments by foreign companies in the oil sector. A law setting ground rules for managing Iraq's huge petroleum reserves is also to be approved by the end of the year.
The country needs invenment and has to push libralization and open up markets.
The main trouble in enacting laws is the difference in opinion about whether the resource is controlled by regional governments or Baghdad.
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