Following a ribbon-cutting event conducted over by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, Oil Minister Hayan Abdel Ghani declared the refinery had started “commercial production.” According to Abdel Ghani: It can refine 140,000 barrels a day, which will help meet local demand for gasoline, kerosene, and heating oil while reducing imports. In an effort to lessen its reliance on imports, Iraq on Saturday opened an oil refinery in the country’s capital city of Karbala.
Iraq Starts a New Oil Refinery
Iraq still needs to purchase energy despite having enormous oil and gas reserves. The refinery, constructed by the South Korean company Hyundai, can generate nine million litres of fuel per day, which is more than half of Iraq’s daily imports of 15 million liters, according to the minister.
Additionally, the refinery has the ability to generate 200 megawatts of energy, of which “60 megawatts will be distributed to the national grid,” according to Abdel Ghani. Iraq produces an average of 3.3 million barrels of crude per day, ranking second in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
Around 90% of the government’s income comes from the sale of crude. Iraq has been ravaged by decades of war, and attempts to rebuild have been hampered by the country’s deteriorating infrastructure and pervasive corruption.
When tests were conducted in September, an official from the oil ministry told AFP that the Karbala refinery was “the first to be constructed since the 1980s with such a manufacturing capacity.”
About half of Iraq’s demand for refined goods is met by three additional refineries, with the remaining demand being shipped. The country has a severe water shortage, and the prime minister launched a campaign in March to fight these effects, among other things through support for energy that is renewable and clean.
In order to meet one-third of its electricity needs by 2030, Sudani stated that Iraq was “moving forward toward signing contracts for developing renewable energy power plants.”
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