Iraqi oil bill sent to parliament

Iraq's oil industry has suffered neglect and under-investment

Iraq's oil minister says a long-awaited draft oil and gas law has been sent to parliament for approval.

The bill, seen as crucial in regulating how oil wealth is divided among Iraq's ethnic and religious groups, received cabinet backing in February.

A dispute between central government and autonomous Kurdistan over control of the oil has delayed its submission.

The minister, Hussein Shahristani, said political groups had agreed to try to pass the law by the end of May.

"The KRG (Kurdish Regional Government) is not opposed to the draft law... they are very happy with the draft law," Mr Shahristani said.

There was no immediate response from Kurdish officials.

The move comes on the eve of a key international conference on Iraq in Egypt, where diplomats from industrialised countries and regional powers will discuss security and reconstruction.

Representatives are expected to endorse the International Compact for Iraq, a five-year plan that grants foreign support in exchange for reforms.

On the sidelines, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice may hold talks with her Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki.

The US has accused Iran of helping insurgents in Iraq, a charge Iran has strongly denied.

'Greater access'

The draft law seeks to allocate oil and gas revenues equally between Iraq's 18 provinces, in proportion to their populations.

The US has been pressing for the law to be approved as quickly as possible, believing it will help bring the different ethnic and sectarian groups together.

The BBC's Andrew North in Baghdad says there has been criticism that the law gives too many concessions to foreign oil companies planning to invest - a charge Iraq's oil ministry denies.

The deals the Kurds have signed independently with foreign companies have also caused disagreements, with the ministry saying they have to be approved centrally, our correspondent says.

Iraqi Kurdistan suffered decades of repression by Saddam Hussein's regime during which more than 100,000 Kurds are believed to have perished.

After the 1991 Gulf War, it had autonomy but remained isolated.

Since the fall of the regime in 2003, investment has started to flow and the region has had greater access to central government revenue from Baghdad.

Iraq has the world's third largest oil reserves, mostly situated in the Kurdish north and Shia-dominated south.