“Additionally does Ninawa have the first right to buy the refined oil from Khormala – or will it depend on as-yet-undeveloped fields in Makhmour, east of Ninawa?” And what would happen to the oil refinery after the expiration of the 20-year contract with KAR – who would it belong to then?”
At a recent press conference, the head of the provincial council's committee on oil, Hashim Brifkani, played down objections, saying that 24 out of the 36-member council had voted in favour of the project. Brifkani also said that most of the objections to the project were politically motivated, based mostly on the objectors' problems with Iraqi Kurdistan. Additionally objectors to the plan did not have the interests of the people of Ninawa at heart.
The project would supply oil, increase employment and investment and help produce electricity in the province, Brifkani added enthusiastically.
Meanwhile researcher Mohammed Tahseen believes a deal like this one is a firm indicator that Ninawa too, is taking steps away from the central government, with a view to becoming a semi-autonomous region. The refinery is another move toward financial independence.
One of the biggest issues is the location, he stated. It would be built in one of the disputed areas – that is, land that the central government in Baghdad says belongs to Iraq proper, but which the government in semi-autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan says belongs to their region.
“In the end the whole issue relates to the ongoing conflict between the central government, the provincial authorities in Ninawa and the Iraqi Kurdish government,” Tahseen says. “The same conflict is being played out in other areas too, like health, education and security.”
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