BAGHDAD — The United States is pressing Iraq to establish a legal
framework to attract foreign oil investment.
The Bush administration has urged the government of Prime Minister Nouri
Al Maliki to increase oil security and establish a transparent legal
environment to attract foreign investment.
The administration has also announced
several initiatives to deal with oil development and regulation as well as
electricity generation, Middle East Newsline reported.
"Iraq will only realize its very considerable potential as an oil
producer with the help of investors," U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman
said.
In a briefing last week, Bodman said the Iraqi government sought to
draft a hydrocarbon law designed to regulate investment by foreign oil
companies. He said parliament intended to pass the law by the end of 2006.
