Iraqi Oil Minister Hayan Abdulghani says that Iraq aims to rebuild a damaged 150,000 b/d CDU at the 140,000 b/d Baiji refinery in Saladin province by the end of next year. The refinery, once Iraq’s largest, was largely destroyed by the Islamic State and currently has a capacity of 120,000 b/d through two CDUs according to Deputy Minister for Refining Affairs Hamid Younes.
The announcement came following a visit by PM Mohammed al-Sudani where he announced recovery of equipment stolen from the facility when the group overtook it. Mr Sudani said that the equipment was found in the Kurdistan Region and brought back in cooperation with the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government. Mr Sudani says the recovered equipment covers 60% of what is required to rebuild the CDU. Chiyoda Corporation, fellow Japanese firm Mitsubishi and Turkish EPC contractor Çalık Enerji were earlier this year tasked with conducting a damage assessment of the site (MEES, 21 April), but the ministry says state firms will be tasked with the rebuild. (CONTINUED - 210 WORDS)