Bush 'knew nothing' on Hunt-Iraq oil deal

WASHINGTON, Sept. 20 (UPI) -- President Bush said he “knew nothing” about a deal between Hunt Oil, which has ties to the administration, and the Iraqi Kurdistan government.

Bush was pressed on the controversial production-sharing contract during a news conference Thursday.

“Our embassy also expressed concern about it,” Bush said when asked if it undermined a national oil law. “I knew nothing about the deal.”

“I need to know exactly how it happened,” he added. “To the extent that it does undermine the ability for the government to come up with an oil revenue-sharing plan that unifies the country, obviously I’m -- if it undermines that, I’m concerned.”

The revenue-sharing law is different than the oil law.

The Kurdistan Regional Government has signed a number of oil and gas deals with private oil companies since the toppling of Saddam Hussein. The KRG sees it as a sign of economic development in a war-torn and struggling country, but the move is seen by others as undercutting the federal Iraqi government.

Iraq hasn’t been able to pass an oil law, which it is waiting for before moving forward on developing its vast oil sector.

The Hunt Oil deal was announced by the KRG Sept. 8. Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani said all but a handful of KRG oil deals are considered illegal and will not be upheld.

But the Hunt deal has raised concerns in the United States, considering the connections of Ray Hunt, its chief executive officer.

Hunt was appointed by Bush twice to the president’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board -- "which is said to have access to intelligence that experts acknowledge is advantageous to the international energy interest of the Hunt Oil Company,” according to a statement by Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, who has called for investigations into the deal.

Hunt has also been a major fundraiser for Bush and held a top Republican Party position.