Iraq’s parliament approved the appointment of Jabar Ali al-Luaibi, former head of the main state oil firm, as oil minister in a cabinet overhaul on Monday that bolsters Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s leadership. Parliament approved five of them including Luaibi, in a session in Baghdad, state TV said.
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Parliament on August 15 approved Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s nominees for ministers of oil, transport, higher education, housing and construction, and water resources. He replaces Adel Abdul Mahdi who had suspended his participation in the cabinet in March, citing disarray in government ministries.
It may be mentioned here that the conflict centers on the Kurdish region’s crude oil exports, which Baghdad wants to bring under its control. He also said that Iraq will seek local investment to develop its natural gas industry.
South Oil is the company that produces most of the OPEC nation’s crude.
Demonstrations held by supporters of powerful Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in support of anti-graft reforms turned violent in May, after influential political groups blocked Abadi’s plan.
The cabinet issue has led to repeated turmoil in parliament this year, making the legislature even less effective than usual at a time when the country faces a war against jihadists and an economic crisis caused by slumping oil prices. He had hoped to replace political appointees with independent technocrats who could improve public services, which rapidly deteriorated following the 2003 US -led invasion.
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Al-Luaibi, who has a bachelor of science in chemical engineering, has worked in Iraq’s oil business since 1973, according to a copy of his resume provided by his office. The country has lost sales and revenue from its northern region as a payments dispute with the Kurds and interruptions to the flow of oil for export through a pipeline to Turkey have crippled shipments.
