Iraq: Oil Resources Draft Law Almost Ready

Iraq’s oil minister declared on Wednesday that a draft law governing development of the country's oil reserves, claimed to be the world's second-largest ones, had been referred to parliament and could be passed within a month.

The announcement came on the eve of the start of a two-day meeting in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Thursday which could see Iraq receive billions of dollars in debt relief and international assistance in exchange for commitments to reform.

Hussein Shahristani did not specify, however, how a potentially divisive conflict with Kurdish regional officials over the control of oilfields had been resolved