Japanese engineering firm JGC has been making steady progress on constructing a 55,000 b/d fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) complex at the 350,000 b/d Basrah refinery in Iraq (MEES, 16 April 2021). In its 2022-23 results (year ending 31 March) on 11 May, the firm says that it continues peak civil works with mechanical work having already started at the site. It adds that “detailed design is mostly complete, and the fabrication of equipment is in the final stages.”
Iraqi state refineries are dilapidated and some 50% of output is dominated by fuel oil production, forcing the country to rely on expensive gasoline and diesel imports which reached a record $5.3bn last year. Baghdad hopes the new 140,000 b/d Karbala refinery, which began initial operations in April, will slash imports once it hits full operations in July (MEES, 21 April). (CONTINUED - 491 WORDS)
