Iraq oil min hopes oil law will pass by end-May

RIYADH, May 2 (Reuters) Iraq's new oil law has been sent to parliament and political groups including the Kurds have agreed to pass it by the end of May, Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani said today.

''It has been sent to parliament now. There has been agreement among the political parties to work together to enact it by the end of the month. We are still hoping that parliament will be able to do that,'' he told reporters in Saudi Arabia.

''The KRG (Kurdish regional government) is not opposed to the draft law. On the contrary, they are very happy with the draft law.'' The central government and autonomous, oil-rich Kurdistan are at loggerheads over annexes to the draft legislation that will decide control of the world's third largest oil reserves.

The oil law, backed by Washington, is vital to securing foreign investment to boost Iraq's oil output and rebuild its economy. But last-minute disputes over annexes have raised the prospect of delay.

Iraq's Kurdish region said on Sunday it would try to block the draft law in parliament, but the country's deputy prime minister, Barham Saleh, told Reuters yesterday he was confident that the law would be passed once officials from the central government and Kurdistan meet to iron out differences.

Shahristani told reporters in Saudi Arabia that companies or other parties should refrain from signing any new oil agreements before the law is passed, warning that they would not be considered valid.

REUTERS SZ HT1340