Nassif: Iraq now possesses huge offshore oil fields after the borders were established.
Iraqi parliament member Alia Nassif confirmed on Wednesday that there are a number of oil fields, in addition to the “Dhurra” gas field, that contain large reserves and are located deep in the sea, and Iraq has not benefited from them previously due to border disputes with the Kuwaiti side.
Nasif told Shafaq News Agency that depositing the maps with the United Nations and establishing the borders made Iraq own these fields, which allows it to contract with international companies to extract oil and gas from the fields located in the sea waters.
Nasif, a member of the Reconstruction and Development bloc, added that contracting with international companies in the offshore oil and gas fields will contribute to boosting the country’s oil production and adding financial returns estimated at millions of dollars.
Yesterday, the head of the bloc, Bahaa al-Araji, considered that Iraq had become a Gulf state “practically” after depositing the country’s maritime maps with the United Nations.
Days ago, Iraq deposited a complete map of its maritime zones with precise coordinates with the United Nations, in a move aimed at strengthening its maritime rights and bolstering its negotiating position on issues related to maritime borders, according to what the Director General of the General Company for Iraqi Ports, Farhan Al-Fartousi, told Shafaq News Agency.
The 2012 Agreement on Navigation in Khor Abdullah between Iraq and Kuwait is a technical and administrative remedy for the effects of the former regime’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and the resulting demarcation of borders under Security Council Resolution No. (833) of 1993. Article Six of the Agreement affirmed that it “does not affect the borders between the two parties in Khor Abdullah established under Security Council Resolution No. (833) of 1993.”
The Iraqi Council of Ministers approved the draft ratification law at the end of 2012, and the House of Representatives approved it by a simple majority under Law No. (42) of 2013, and it was published in the Iraqi Gazette in issue (4299) dated 11/25/2013.
The Federal Court also issued its decision No. (21/Federal/2014) dated 12/18/2014, as it distinguished between the law regulating the process of ratifying treaties, which requires a two-thirds majority according to Article (61/Fourth) of the Constitution, and the law ratifying a specific agreement, which is approved by a simple majority based on Article (59/Second).
Iraq’s deposit of maritime maps and official coordinates with the United Nations has sparked reactions in Gulf circles, amid calls to contain the repercussions of the move and address the issue through diplomatic frameworks and official channels.
Diplomatic tensions between Iraq and Kuwait have been escalating for years over the issue of demarcating the maritime border beyond point (162), which is the maritime extension that has not been completed in its demarcation between the two countries since the issuance of Security Council Resolution No. (833) in 1993.
Shafaq.com