Hunt Oil's deal with Kurds blessed by U.S officials

BEIJING, July 3 (Xinhuanet) -- Hunt Oil Co. efforts to obtain an exploration deal with Iraq's Kurdish regional government were blessed by U.S. officials, contrary to public statements discouraging it, according to documents cited by a congressional committee. The agreement, which was announced in September, was criticized as undermining efforts to strengthen and Iraq central government that still had no national oil revenue-sharing law. Bush administration officials expressed public concern and denied any knowledge of the contract. "Contrary to the denials of administration officials, advisors to the president and officials in the State and Commerce Departments knew about Hunt Oil's interest in the Kurdish region months before the contract was executed," Waxman, a California Democrat, wrote in a letter to Secretary of State... [read full story]