Iraqi oil minister says Hunt Oil deal with Kurd regional government illegal

VIENNA, Austria: An agreement announced this weekend between U.S.-based Hunt Oil Co. and the self-ruled Kurdish administration of northern Iraq to explore for oil is illegal, Iraq's oil minister Hussain al-Shahristani said Monday.

Those comments underscore the central government's view that exploration contracts with foreign companies should be signed only after the adoption of a new national oil law, which has been stalled for months.

"Any oil deal has no standing as far as the government of Iraq is concerned," al-Shahristani said as he arrived for an OPEC meeting in Vienna. "All these contracts have to be approved by the Federal Authority before they are legal. This (contract) was not presented for approval. It has no standing."

Hunt Oil, a privately held independent oil company, and the Kurdish regional government said Saturday they had signed a production-sharing contract for petroleum exploration in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq. Terms were not disclosed.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/09/10/business/EU-FIN-Austria-Iraq-H...

It was announced a few days ago that the Kurds have made separate agreements, production-sharing contracts, with foreign oil companies, which has led to harsh words between the Kurds and central Iraqi government officials and threatens passage of the national production-sharing plan. One of the companies the Kurds have signed an agreement with is Hunt Oil. According to CBS News (Sept. 9) CEO Ray Hunt is on the board of Halliburtin and "has been a key fundraiser for President George W. Bush, who named him to the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board."
http://www.politicalcortex.com/story/2007/9/14/52938/0479