Iraqi oil minister Ibrahim Bahr Al Oloum inaugurated two oil refinery projects in central Iraq with a combined cost of $1.8 billion, the London-based al-Hayat daily reported.
The $1.5 billion Al-Nahrein oil refinery project is located in the province of Karbala 100 kilometers to the south of Baghdad. It would provide about 6,500 jobs.
“This is a strategic project; it will provide the region with a daily supply of 8 million liters of gasoline and seven million liters of gasoil, “Bahr Al Oloum said.
The refinery, which is expected to be completed within three years, will also supply fuel to electric power stations.
“Al-Nahrein refinery comprises advanced gasoline enhancement and steam production units in addition to large oil derivatives cisterns,” the minister stated.
The other project is the Al Diwaniyah refinery, which is to be built 160 kilometers to the south of Baghdad.
The government allocated $300 million to the project, Bahr Al Oloum said.
Al Diwaniyah refinery would provide 1,000 jobs and have an output of 30,000 bpd.
At a later date, the Iraqi ministry of oil is scheduled to launch the Al Nasiriyah refinery project, 400 kilometers to the south of Baghdad. This refinery would have a capacity of 300,000 bpd, al-Hayat said.
The oil ministry is also planning to enhance production capacities of the southern Iraqi refineries in Al Samawah, Basra, and Meessan.
In further measures for the improvement of Iraq’s refining capacities, the ministry intends to add a 70,000 bpd refining unit to Al Dora refinery in Baghdad and increase the capacities of three other refineries, Kirkuk (to 65,000 bpd), Koy Sinjaq in Kurdistan (to 70,000 bpd), and Najaf city (to 210,000 bpd).
APD (Arab Press Digest)
|
