Q&A: Ali Shaddad al-Faris, MP and spokesperson for the Parliament Oil and Gas Committee

BASRA - Iraq’s Parliament is engaging with a variety of energy-related legislation and oversight – but a national oil law is not on the agenda.

Ali Shaddad al-Faris, a member of the Parliament Oil, Gas, and Natural Resources Committee, who also serves as the committee’s spokesperson, says the political conditions aren’t right for moving an oil law forward during the current session.

The major sticking point, as it has been for nearly two decades, is a fundamental disagreement over how to distribute power in Iraq’s federal system, with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) advocating for decentralized oil authority.

Faris spoke about several other friction points between Baghdad and the KRG, as well as other political dynamics affecting the energy sector, including the recent dismissal of Deputy Oil Minister Hamid Younis Saleh.

A full transcript of the interview is available below for Iraq Oil Report subscribers.