[JURIST] The Iraqi legislature's failure to pass an oil law [JURIST news archive], rather than the security situation in the country, is preventing international oil corporations from investing in Iraq, US Deputy Treasury Secretary Robert Kimmitt [official profile] said Tuesday. Kimmitt explained that companies are looking for the law to establish a firm investment framework with clear regulations before moving into Iraq, and are less concerned with security issues, with which the companies are used to dealing.

Negotiations on a controversial Iraqi oil bill on regulation and revenue-sharing collapsed in September [JURIST report] because of Kurdish opposition on the issue of control over oil fields in Kurdish-ruled areas. The oil law is one of 18 benchmarks established by Public Law 110-28 to measure US success in Iraq. Several recent reports, including the White House's Initial Benchmark Assessment Report [text; JURIST report] and a report [text, PDF] released in September by the US Government Accountability Office, conclude that the Iraqi government has not met most of those legislative, security, and economic benchmarks. AP has more.