Senators wary of Iraq oil deals

WASHINGTON (CNNMoney.com) - Two U.S. senators asked the Bush administration Tuesday to stop the Iraqi government from signing imminent no-bid contracts with several U.S. and European oil companies, expressing concern about the distribution of royalties from the deal.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, and Sen. John Kerry, D-Massachusetts, sent a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressing concerns about a contract that the government of Iraq is preparing to sign with Exxon Mobil Corp., Royal Dutch Shell, Total SA, Chevron Corp., BP and other companies. The contract would let those companies develop Iraq's largest oil fields.

The senators, who released the letter, said they are worried that unfair distribution of oil revenue could inflame the violence between the warring religious and political groups of Iraq because the government of Iraq "currently does not have in place a revenue-sharing law that could fairly allocate any revenue gained from Iraq's lucrative hydrocarbon fields between the three major ethnic groups in Iraq."