The Iraqi government has pledged to divide the country's oil wealth and open the industry to international investment.
Oil minister Hussain al-Shahristani told journalists in Baghdad yesterday that new legislation would ensure that Iraq benefited from its natural assets.
"This law will guarantee for Iraqis - not just now, but for future generations, too - complete national control over this natural wealth," he was quoted as saying.
With the war-ravaged country's oil and gas reserves mostly concentrated in the Kurdish north and Shia south, Sunni Iraqis have previously made clear their fears that they will be excluded from a share of the revenues.
Deputy prime minister Barham Salih told US broadcaster CNN the yet-to-be-ratified draft national oil law would mean that all wealth will be shared and redistributed equitably among all of Iraq's ethnic groups.
Prime minister Nouri al-Maliki described the deal as a "gift to all the Iraqi people".
Mr al-Maliki said his country relied on oil revenues for about 90 per cent of its national budget.
The draft law requires the backing of Iraq's 275-member parliament. Kurdish groups backed the plans over the weekend.
US White House spokesman Tony Snow described the new oil law as a "key lynchpin" to Iraq's reconstruction. The country holds the world's third-largest proven reserves of oil.
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