Iraq is moving toward signing a batch of oil deals, with or without a national oil law, as it attempts to pick up production of the world's third-largest oil reserves.

"All the major oil companies … are very interested for obvious reasons to come work in Iraq and with the improved security conditions they've been approaching us and indicating their keen interest," Shahristani told reporters on the sidelines of an OPEC summit in Riyadh. "We have always told them that they are most welcome to come work in Iraq with us and we don't necessarily need a new hydrocarbon law to do that.

"We have our prevailing laws that allow the minister of oil in Iraq to sign any kind of contract; of course it has to be presented to the Parliament depending on the kind of contract," Shahristani said. "We have already started talking to a few major oil companies who are interested in the super giant fields in the south which are already producing. We are producing oil from there but there are new technologies, they have been working and studying these fields. We'll find a way to cooperate to enhance production from these fields and make more oil available to the world market."

While Baghdad has only recently said it would soon sign oil deals, based on a Saddam Hussein-era oil law, the Kurdistan Regional Government passed its own oil law in August and since then has signed 14 oil deals with smaller international oil companies.

The dispute over the oil law is about federal vs. local control over various parts of the oil sector. Shahristani has called the KRG deals "illegal" and threatened to blacklist those who sign. He didn't say whether there will be any consequences for the Kurdish region.

"The current law in Iraq does not allow any company to sign a contract with any entity other than the federal authorities represented by the Ministry of Oil. By doing so they are putting themselves at risk," he said. "They are opportunists who are seeking an opportunity where they think they can get a high profit. I would like them to know that that oil cannot be exported from Iraq without the permission of the federal authorities."

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Ben Lando, UPI Energy Editor

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(e-mail: blando@upi.com)