History
The Iraqi oil industry had been completely nationalized by 1972. The government in the 1990s, under the presidency of Saddam Hussein, gave production share agreements (PSAs) to Russian and Chinese companies which gave a profit percentage of less than 10 percent.
The Bush administration hired the consulting firm BearingPoint to help write the law in 2004. The bill was approved by the Iraqi cabinet in February 2007. The Bush administration considers the passage of the law a benchmark for the government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki. One stumbling block was the unpopularity of the law, as it is perceived by the Iraqi people. An opinion poll conducted in 2007 by Oil Change International and other groups shows 63% of Iraqis surveyed would "prefer Iraq's oil to be developed and produced by Iraqi state-owned companies by foreign companies". This explains why the law had stalled in the Iraqi parliament.
Read more about this topic: Iraq Oil Law (2007)
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