"The precise details of the draft law are yet to be made public, but most policymakers have referred to a type of contract known as production sharing agreements (PSAs) - the form favoured by multinational oil companies. PSAs are legal agreements, designed to replace a weak or missing legal framework as in the case of Iraq. PSAs have recently generated headlines in Russia for the unfavourable economic deal the government received in relation to the Sakhalin 2 oil and gas project, signed in the mid-90s when the country was undergoing rapid economic liberalisation and political turmoil.
According to Greg Muttitt, a researcher for UK-based oil industry watchdog PLATFORM, "Along with the US and UK governments, the IMF and World Bank are forcing a policy on Iraq which favours the interests of oil multinationals at the expense of the Iraqi people."...
The World Bank is also heavily involved in Iraq's petroleum sector strategy. Appendix III of Iraq's request for an SBA from the IMF clearly states that the World Bank is the lead institution for sectoral strategies including the petroleum sector. In violation of the World Bank's good governance and anti-corruption rhetoric, PSAs could prolong and exacerbate poor governance by allowing investors in the oil and gas sector to effectively bypass the weak or absent legal and regulatory frameworks. Heike Mainhardt-Gibbs, consultant to US-based NGO Bank Information Center said ""PSA-driven development of the oil sector stands to make it even more difficult to ensure that the necessary changes will be made to improve overall governance, such as the creation of checks and balances across government agencies and economic and social sectors. Given this potential, the PSA contract model promoted by the World Bank may lead Iraq down the path of the resource curse".
Related;
The Black Gold Rush: Divvying Up Iraq's Oil
Crude Designs: The Rip-Off of Iraq’s Oil Wealth
Iraq in Talks With Chevron, Exxon
Law Could Help Modernize Iraq Oil Sector
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