BAGHDAD -- Legislation dealing with the management of Iraq's oil industry won Cabinet approval yesterday and could go before parliament for ratification within days, but political wrangling raised the possibility of delays in passing the long-stalled measure.
The legislation is one of two measures covering Iraq's oil wealth. The second, which would set up the mechanism to ensure the equitable distribution of oil profits, still must be passed by the Cabinet. Government spokesman Ali Dabbagh said that was expected to happen this week.
The reform of Iraq's oil industry is among the most important benchmarks that Washington says are crucial to indicating that Iraqi politicians can overcome religious and sectarian divisions to pass laws beneficial to all Iraqis. With parliament planning to recess for a month at the end of July and U.S. officials scheduled to present an Iraqi progress report to Congress in September, time is running short for the measure to become law.
The oil measures together are considered the only benchmark likely to be met, and officials involved in drafting the legislation have made no secret of its importance. Passage would be "a platinum-level sign that these guys can in fact make decisions," a U.S. Embassy official said.
At a news conference yesterday, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki described it as the "most important" piece of legislation in Iraq. But the effort has languished since February, when the Cabinet approved an early version. Differences quickly arose among Kurdish, Shiite and Sunni political blocs over that draft. Many of those differences resurfaced yesterday.
After the first draft passed, Kurds objected to what they considered an attempt by the Iraqi government to take away regional control of oil field management. Much of Iraq's oil is in the Kurdish north, where the semiautonomous region of Kurdistan has enjoyed freedom to make contracts without central government involvement. Kurds said proposals in the early draft violated constitutional guarantees of regional autonomy.
Sunni and Kurdish parties also wanted better guarantees that the Shiite-led government would distribute oil proceeds fairly and quickly.
Recently, leaders of the main political blocs said they had overcome their differences.
However, in a statement yesterday, the Kurdish Regional Government said it had not seen the latest draft approved by the Cabinet, which has not been published, and might fight the legislation.
A member of the main Sunni parliament bloc, the Iraqi Accordance Front, indicated that Sunni lawmakers also might try to block passage. Ammar Wajeeh said the legislation should not be passed until agreement was reached on constitutional amendments dealing with regional powers. But a parliamentary committee tackling proposed constitutional revisions is not expected to finish work until September.
Wajeeh said the Sunni bloc also worried that the law would infringe on Iraq's sovereignty by opening the oil industry to foreign investment.
"It will make it easy for these companies, especially American companies, to control it," he said.
Another problem is the ongoing boycott of parliament by the 44-member Iraqi Accordance Front. Lawmakers walked out of the assembly in June to protest other legislators' efforts to replace the Sunni speaker, Mahmoud Mashadani, who was voted out last month for rude behavior.
Sunni politicians also are angry over a criminal investigation under way against a Sunni Cabinet minister, and their six Cabinet ministers are boycotting meetings. They were not present for yesterday's approval of the oil draft.
Wajeeh said there were no plans for the Sunni bloc to return to parliament
Their comments contrasted with those of Dabbagh, who said the legislation was all but sealed.
The political squabbling coincided with a violent day in Baghdad, where at least 36 people died or were found slain. Eighteen people were killed in the northeastern neighborhood of Shaab when a car bomb exploded near a market. The bodies of 18 men believed to be victims of sectarian death squads were found in the capital.
The U.S. military said an Apache attack helicopter had been shot down south of Baghdad but that the two crew members escaped with minor injuries. The Air Force used two bombs to destroy the helicopter to prevent hostile forces from recovering it, the statement said.
In western Anbar province, two Marines died in what was described as an accident unrelated to combat.
Tina Susman and Saif Hameed write for the Los Angeles Times.