As Iraq engages in the task of nation-building, it has to face what sort of nation it is, if any sort. Part of the inherent problem of Iraq is that it did not arise from indigenous forces, but was rather carved willy-nilly by western powers. Now that this territory doesn't have Saddam's strong arm holding it together, there's a question of what sort of entity it is or eventually will be – a unitary nation, a federal union like the US, a trade group of distinct political entities like Europe or a bunch of autonomous countries?
These questions are raised by the recent deal between Hunt Oil Co. and Kurdistan, discussed in today's WSJ. Hunt entered into the deal as it got tired of waiting for Baghdad to pass a national oil law, and Kurdistan went ahead and passed one of its own. According to the WSJ:
The deal shows the new Kurdish law "has created a supportive and transparent business environment" for international oil companies, said Ashti Hawrami, Kurdish minister for natural resources, in a statement. Mr. Hawrami said that any eventual revenue from the deal will be shared with other Iraqi regions. * * * Ray Hunt, chief executive of Hunt and the patriarch of the family's business interests -- which span energy, real estate, private investment and ranching -- said in a statement that he was pleased to be "participating in the establishment of the petroleum industry in the Kurdistan region of Iraq." * * * [A] spokeswoman said Hunt determined that conditions were right to sign the deal, after the regional law was passed. "They have a new petroleum law which is transparent and which calls for immediate work in the region[.]" * * * The Kurdish regional government "provided all of the necessary processes to begin work and we were ready to go."
Comments