Iraq’s Oil Ministry plans to massively expand the 14,000 b/d Qayara refinery in the north of the country. Work would increase capacity six-fold, by 70,000 b/d to 84,000 b/d. Presumably a slew of new units would also be added to what is currently a simple topping plant, though no details on this have been released.
The announcement comes amidst a broader push from Baghdad to overhaul the country’s aged refining fleet, where more than 40% of output is low-quality fuel oil (chart 1). As a result Iraq’s refineries are unable to meet domestic demand for gasoline and diesel (MEES, 21 August). (CONTINUED - 808 WORDS)
