Report: Iraq oil-sharing law in shambles

BAGHDAD, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- An Iraqi draft law regarding oil revenue sharing among Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds is falling apart as Kurds have begun signing contracts on their own.

Consensus among the three factions on the bulk of the law was reached in February. Since then, the Kurdish regional government has signed two exploration contracts on its own, a New York Times correspondent in Baghdad reported Thursday.

After the first contract, Sunni legislators began falling away from supporting the bill.

Jamal Abdullah, a spokesman for the Kurdistan Regional Government, told the Times allegations Kurds were taking steps to secede from Iraq were unfounded.

"We reject what some parties say -- that it is a step toward separation -- because we have drafted the Kurdistan oil law depending on Article 111 of the Iraqi Constitution, which says oil and natural resources are properties of Iraqi people," Abdullah said.

Iraq's major oil fields are in the Kurdish north, and Shiite-dominated south, making revenue-sharing a sticking point for Sunnis, the report said.