Iraq: Luaibi, provincial councils and contacts with oil companiesnote

The Iraqi Oil Ministry is said to have reticence about the contacts that are held between some provincial councils in southern Iraq and foreign oil companies. The following 373-word report sheds light on the subject and tells why the Oil Ministry is reticent and what provincial councils and oil companies are involved in. It also tells what Oil Minister Abdul-Kareem Luaibi intends to do with regards to the issue.