Iraq: Shahristani foils attempts to delay oil service contractsnote

Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein Al-Shahristani is said to have so far foiled all attempts by the Iraqi Parliament’s Oil and Gas Committee to delay the first bidding round of oil service contracts. The following 450-word report focuses on the subject and tells how the Committee attempted to delay the awarding of contracts and how Shahristani reacted. It also tells what condition Shahristani intends to mention verbally to the contracts’ winners.