DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- A former top U.N. adviser condemned the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and said the country's oil sector is at risk.
Al-Akhdar al-Ibrahimi, an Algerian diplomat and former special adviser to the U.N. secretary-general, said any talk of a weak central Iraqi government role in the oil sector will be a destabilizing factor in the country.
Iraqi oil production is a half-million below pre-war levels, though it holds the third-most reserves in the world.
The parliament has not passed a federal oil law as the various factions inside the country disagree on how much control the central government should have over the oil resources and its revenues, and what role the regions should play.
While most of the oil production comes from the Shiite-controlled south, the semi-autonomous Kurdistan in the north has seen little violence and has begun signing contracts with oil companies to further explore the region.
This has led to a spat between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the central government, over whether the Iraqi Oil Ministry will recognize the contracts and who will control all future oil production.
"A policy of decentralization in Iraq or the division of this country will cause chaos in Iraq and the region," Al-Ibrahimi said Monday at the Arab Strategy Forum in Dubai.
He said Iraq's ongoing struggles "reflects the fading of the authority of the central government, which opposes this type of conventions and this is very dangerous."
The Shiite majority is split on central vs. regional control. Some see the freedom the KRG has experienced, while others who may play a leading role in a strong central government want control over all the oil resources and revenue.
The Sunnis, with land that has little oil, sees the a strong regional role as a threat, possibly with the Kurds and Shiites, long oppressed under Sunni Saddam Hussein's regime, seeking retribution by holding back funds.
Al-Ibrahimi said the war in Iraq "has destroyed the state and has not built it," Iraq Directory reports.
