The ‘Iraqi hydrocarbon law’ “grants foreign oil companies ‘national treatment,’ which means that the Iraqi government cannot give preference to Iraqi oil companies (whether public or privately owned) over foreign-owned companies when it chooses contractors. This provision alone will severely cripple the government’s ability to ensure that Iraqis gain as much economic benefit as possible from their oil.”
– Bob Cesca, “Unsolved Mystery: The Iraqi Hydrocarbon Law,” The Huffington Post, Jan. 22, 2007