Iraq’s parliamentary Oil & Energy Committee has submitted an amended draft oil and gas bill to the country’s cabinet for them to vote on its approval.

The bill was submitted on 13 July and will go before parliament for ratification once it is reviewed by the council of ministers, according to Faisal Abdullah, media director at the office of the Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs.

“The Ministers Council will in turn make the appropriate modifications on the draft bill that aims to support the raising of the level of oil production,” AKnews reports.

The parliamentary Oil & Energy Committee is seeking to hold off the signing of any further oil and gas contracts until the passing of two key pieces of legislation, a move that could delay the Oil Ministry’s plans for the country’s oil sector (MEED 8:7:11).

This includes a long awaited law to re-constitute the Iraqi National Oil Company (Inoc), which will also receive a second reading in parliament. Both branches of the government, the cabinet and parliament must approve the laws before they can take effect.