IRAQ | Oil Refineries - Page 4

Sinjar · November 6th, 2012, 08:49 AM

$4 billion for new refinery in Karbala

By Shaymaa Adel, Azzaman, November 1, 2012

The Ministry of Oil has allocated $4 billion for the construction of a new refinery in the southern Province of Karbala.

The refinery will take four years to complete and it will be built by Iraqi technicians and engineers under the supervision of a team of international experts.

“The Oil Ministry has earmarked $4 billion for the construction of a refinery in Karbala with a capacity of 150,000 barrels of oil a day,” said the ministry’s undersecretary for refineries and gas processing affairs, Ahmad al-Shamaa.

Shamaa said Iraq wanted to increase its refining capacity currently estimated at more than 500,000 barrels a day to meet predictions of a rise in domestic consumption of fuel.

Iraq was also keen to have a foot in the lucrative international trading in oil by-products, he added.

Shamaa said the ministry had plans to construct three more major refineries, one with a capacity 300,000 barrels of oil the other two with a capacity of 150,000 barrels a day each.

Iraq is expected to add 650,000 barrels to its refining capacity in four years, taking its total refining capacity to more than 1.1 million barrels a day.

Sinjar · November 6th, 2012, 11:14 AM

***BigDreamer*** · December 9th, 2012, 01:28 PM

Iraq’s refining capacity to hit 750,000 bpd in 2013

Date: Sunday, December 09, 2012
Source: Azzaman

Iraq’s refining capacity will increase from its current level of 600,000 bpd to 750,000 bpd next year, said Oil Ministry Undersecretary Ahmad al-Shamaa.

But according to the report from Azzaman, the surge will still fall short of meeting the country’s domestic needs, with some of Iraq’s major refineries producing much less than their capacity due to shortages of crude.

Iraq’s oil production is the highest in 30 years but it lacks the means to transport the crude to some of its refineries lying far away from producing oil fields.

Shamaa said there were plans to build four more refineries in Iraq to propel refining capacity to 1.5 million barrels a day in four years.

Sinjar · December 12th, 2012, 01:13 AM

Wow so they want to double it in just four years? Impressive if succeeded.

Ali - Iraq · January 9th, 2013, 05:31 AM

Iraq to quadruple refinery capacity with help of U.S. firm
Special to WorldTribune.com
BAGHDAD — Iraq plans to oversee an imminent project to build a major
oil refinery.

A worker at an oil field in Nasseriya in southern Iraq. /Reuters/Aref Hassan
The Oil Ministry has completed preparations for the design of a refinery in the southern Iraqi city of Nasseriya. Officials said the ministry has selected the U.S. firm UOP, to design the refinery, meant to have a capacity of 300,000 barrels per day.
Under the contract, UOP, part of Honeywell, would provide basic
engineering, technology licenses, catalysts and specialty equipment. The company said it would help Iraq quadruple refinery capacity by 2030 to an estimated 1.2 million barrels per day.
Iraq has drafted plans to build or upgrade four refineries in a $20
billion project. The facilities, each designed for a capacity of 150,000
barrels per day, would also be located in Karbala, Kirkuk and Maysan.
Window On the Real World!

Ali - Iraq · February 17th, 2013, 07:11 PM

Business | Opinion
Iraq refining industry revisited
Quest to rebuild country’s oil machine is still a quest, ten years on
By Saadallah Al FathiPublished: 21:58 February 17, 2013
Share on facebookShare on emailShare on printShare on favoritesMore Sharing Services0
Ten years after the invasion and occupation of Iraq and billions of dollars spent, the refining industry in that country is still struggling to meet domestic petroleum products demand.
Just before the invasion Iraq, it was not only meeting local demand but actually exporting to neighbouring countries some products like fuel oil, gas oil, LPG and lubricating oils in spite of the difficult years of the embargo on Iraq, which started in August 1990.
The year 2003 may be considered a time for recovery in the aftermath of the invasion and a time of resupply with spare parts, chemicals, catalysts and general engineering materials. Yet refinery capacity utilisation has gone down since then drastically to 50 per cent sometimes and on average to not more than 60 to 70 per cent. Notwithstanding some improvement, capacity utilisation was only 70 per cent in 2012 where refinery feed was about 580 thousand barrels a day (kbd) out of a crude distillation capacity of 840 kbd.
This situation has forced Iraq to import substantial volumes of petroleum products over the years. In 2012 only, imports of LPG, gasoline, kerosene and diesel totalled almost 4.5 million tons costing over $4 billion. It will not be an overstatement if one says that petroleum products imports cost may have been over $20 billion since 2003. Even with this level of imports, shortages are often reported in many localities due to the fact that reserve stocks are limited and are not proportional to the expected demand.
Article continues below

Another episode in the refining industry in Iraq is the lack of care for its lubricating oil refineries, which used to be the oldest and most experienced in the region as its history dates back to 1957. The available capacity of lube oils production in the three major refineries adds up to 345,000 tons a year. Production in 2012 was only 20 per cent, which is in fact an improvement over previous years. Because trade in lube oils is in the hands of the private sector, statistics are not reliable with respect to imports. However, with due consideration of fuels consumption, I humbly estimate imports to be over 100,000 tons a year costing close to $150 million and adding to over a billion dollars over the years since 2003. Technically, there is no quality control over lube imports similar to the rest of petroleum products imports with the attendant damage that could come from using sub-standard products.
This situation is unlikely to change as refinery utilisation may not improve substantially due to the pressure of demand and the near impossibility of stopping refineries long enough for major maintenance, repairs and modifications.
Unfortunately, the plans for four new and complex modern refineries are still on the board where millions were spent on studies and designs but no action on sites yet. The quest of the Ministry of Oil for private investment is not yielding any positive results and unlikely to do so in the near future. The refining industry even in the best situation does not yield good profit margins for its investors and, therefore, national oil companies in countries like Iraq do shoulder the responsibility of building refineries not only to supply the domestic market and export surpluses but to reap the advantages of deep industrialiszation, employment and technology transfer in addition to safeguarding the energy security of the country.
Even the expansion of the existing refineries, which could go a long way of easing the situation, is on a slow burner. The plans exist for many years now and some of them go back to before 2003 but very little have been achieved in contracting for the conversion units in the major refineries that are to increase light products production at the expense of surplus residual fuel oil. Even the modest expansion of the last few years was only in crude distillation capacity without supporting process units to improve products quality.
There is indeed no easy solution or a quick fix for Iraq refining industry as long as the chase of private investment takes precedent over the role of the national companies and government budget. But a suggestion may be made if there are any listeners. Use government prerogative to contract speedily for at least one refinery that can be easily connected to the infrastructure for serving the consumption centres.
Similarly and at the same time contract for the conversion units in the major refineries and construct the additional units needed to upgrade products to an acceptable level.
The refining industry in Iraq and in many other countries was and continues to be a well-established example of technical excellence with its capabilities often flowing to other industries and this advantage must be kept in mind for a long time to come.

— The writer is former head of the Energy Studies Department at the Opec Secretariat in Vienna.
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November 6th, 2012, 11:14 AM	#62
Sinjar Iraqi User Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Mosul and KRG Posts: 8,392 Likes (Received): 492	© 2012 OECD/IEA

December 12th, 2012, 01:13 AM	#64
Sinjar Iraqi User Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Mosul and KRG Posts: 8,392 Likes (Received): 492	Wow so they want to double it in just four years? Impressive if succeeded. Last edited by Sinjar; January 9th, 2013 at 07:49 AM.

January 9th, 2013, 05:31 AM	#65
Ali - Iraq Registered User Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Odense Posts: 3,247 Likes (Received): 103	Iraq to quadruple refinery capacity with help of U.S. firm Special to WorldTribune.com BAGHDAD — Iraq plans to oversee an imminent project to build a major oil refinery. A worker at an oil field in Nasseriya in southern Iraq. /Reuters/Aref Hassan The Oil Ministry has completed preparations for the design of a refinery in the southern Iraqi city of Nasseriya. Officials said the ministry has selected the U.S. firm UOP, to design the refinery, meant to have a capacity of 300,000 barrels per day. Under the contract, UOP, part of Honeywell, would provide basic engineering, technology licenses, catalysts and specialty equipment. The company said it would help Iraq quadruple refinery capacity by 2030 to an estimated 1.2 million barrels per day. Iraq has drafted plans to build or upgrade four refineries in a $20 billion project. The facilities, each designed for a capacity of 150,000 barrels per day, would also be located in Karbala, Kirkuk and Maysan. Window On the Real World! __________________ Samawa

February 17th, 2013, 07:11 PM	#66
Ali - Iraq Registered User Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Odense Posts: 3,247 Likes (Received): 103	Business \| Opinion Iraq refining industry revisited Quest to rebuild country’s oil machine is still a quest, ten years on By Saadallah Al FathiPublished: 21:58 February 17, 2013 Share on facebookShare on emailShare on printShare on favoritesMore Sharing Services0 Ten years after the invasion and occupation of Iraq and billions of dollars spent, the refining industry in that country is still struggling to meet domestic petroleum products demand. Just before the invasion Iraq, it was not only meeting local demand but actually exporting to neighbouring countries some products like fuel oil, gas oil, LPG and lubricating oils in spite of the difficult years of the embargo on Iraq, which started in August 1990. The year 2003 may be considered a time for recovery in the aftermath of the invasion and a time of resupply with spare parts, chemicals, catalysts and general engineering materials. Yet refinery capacity utilisation has gone down since then drastically to 50 per cent sometimes and on average to not more than 60 to 70 per cent. Notwithstanding some improvement, capacity utilisation was only 70 per cent in 2012 where refinery feed was about 580 thousand barrels a day (kbd) out of a crude distillation capacity of 840 kbd. This situation has forced Iraq to import substantial volumes of petroleum products over the years. In 2012 only, imports of LPG, gasoline, kerosene and diesel totalled almost 4.5 million tons costing over $4 billion. It will not be an overstatement if one says that petroleum products imports cost may have been over $20 billion since 2003. Even with this level of imports, shortages are often reported in many localities due to the fact that reserve stocks are limited and are not proportional to the expected demand. Article continues below Another episode in the refining industry in Iraq is the lack of care for its lubricating oil refineries, which used to be the oldest and most experienced in the region as its history dates back to 1957. The available capacity of lube oils production in the three major refineries adds up to 345,000 tons a year. Production in 2012 was only 20 per cent, which is in fact an improvement over previous years. Because trade in lube oils is in the hands of the private sector, statistics are not reliable with respect to imports. However, with due consideration of fuels consumption, I humbly estimate imports to be over 100,000 tons a year costing close to $150 million and adding to over a billion dollars over the years since 2003. Technically, there is no quality control over lube imports similar to the rest of petroleum products imports with the attendant damage that could come from using sub-standard products. This situation is unlikely to change as refinery utilisation may not improve substantially due to the pressure of demand and the near impossibility of stopping refineries long enough for major maintenance, repairs and modifications. Unfortunately, the plans for four new and complex modern refineries are still on the board where millions were spent on studies and designs but no action on sites yet. The quest of the Ministry of Oil for private investment is not yielding any positive results and unlikely to do so in the near future. The refining industry even in the best situation does not yield good profit margins for its investors and, therefore, national oil companies in countries like Iraq do shoulder the responsibility of building refineries not only to supply the domestic market and export surpluses but to reap the advantages of deep industrialiszation, employment and technology transfer in addition to safeguarding the energy security of the country. Even the expansion of the existing refineries, which could go a long way of easing the situation, is on a slow burner. The plans exist for many years now and some of them go back to before 2003 but very little have been achieved in contracting for the conversion units in the major refineries that are to increase light products production at the expense of surplus residual fuel oil. Even the modest expansion of the last few years was only in crude distillation capacity without supporting process units to improve products quality. There is indeed no easy solution or a quick fix for Iraq refining industry as long as the chase of private investment takes precedent over the role of the national companies and government budget. But a suggestion may be made if there are any listeners. Use government prerogative to contract speedily for at least one refinery that can be easily connected to the infrastructure for serving the consumption centres. Similarly and at the same time contract for the conversion units in the major refineries and construct the additional units needed to upgrade products to an acceptable level. The refining industry in Iraq and in many other countries was and continues to be a well-established example of technical excellence with its capabilities often flowing to other industries and this advantage must be kept in mind for a long time to come. — The writer is former head of the Energy Studies Department at the Opec Secretariat in Vienna. PrintEmail a friend Share on facebookShare on emailShare on printShare on favoritesMore Sharing Services0 MORE FROM BUSINESS OPINION Iraq refining industry revisited Meat scandal exposes free market vulnerabilities Regional SWFs vital for global economy Handling a new position after a promotion All articles in Opinion MORE FROM BUSINESS HSBC bans Syrians, Sudanese and IraniansHamdan inaugurates electricity and solar showIndia-Gulf trade to soar to $175b Popular in Opinion 1.Handling a new position after a promotion 2.Meat scandal exposes free market vulnerabilities3.Negotiating salary: What to avoid4.Regional SWFs vital for global economy5.Shale no threat to oil producers Popular in Business 1.Facebook gimmick raises concerns2.Idex: Latest defence gear, services on display3.Why Indians love to hate their airlines4.India slowdown is 'worrying'5.Shaikh Mohammad proud of Idex More from Business Business Editor's choice US money funds return to eurozone Money funds’ euro zone exposure rises sharply in H2 2012 Iraq refining industry revisited Quest to rebuild country’s oil machine is still a quest, ten years on Ads by Google Find Billige Flybilletter Kåret til Bedste Rejsesøgemaskine af forbrugerne. Find din billet her www.momondo.dk Sikkerhedsdøre Sikring af Tyveri, Hærværk, Indbrud - Bestil Sikkerhedsdør Efter Ønske! www.multiprotect.dk/sikkerhedsdør Salg af Tøris Kun 199 kr. for 10kg Tøris! Køb Billigt Tøris Lige Her. www.dansk-toeris-teknik.dk/ Frederiksdal Tehandel Danmarks største udvalg. Egen import - Hurtig levering. frederiksdal-tehandel.dk Krak Find hvad du søger på Krak.dk nu. www.krak.dk Pakkepost - Spar 40% Vi Henter & Leverer Pakken Overalt. Bestil Forsendelse på 30 Sekunder! www.pakke.dk SAP RCM Software Reliability Centered Maintenance to optimize your SAP Maintenance Plans www.isograph-software.com/AWB-SAP University of St. Gallen Take a Master's in Management, Launch Your Career in Business Now! www.unisg.ch Gulfnews.com \| Quick links Publications:GoJump to:GoSearch News UAEBahrainKuwaitQatarOmanSaudi ArabiaWorld Business PropertyAviationTechnologyOil & GasInvestmentOpinionYour Money Sport CricketFootballHorse RacingMotorsportGolfTennisSailing Entertainment Film & CinemaMusicCelebrityGamingInternetBooksTelevision Life FoodPeopleMotoringTravelGadgets & TechBeauty & FashionHome & Interiors Guides Resident GuideTourist GuideAsk The LawEvents CalendarWeatherDining outMaps Opinion ColumnistsEditorialsLettersSpeak Your MindYour sayReader's Club Video NewsBusinessSportTravelMotoringLife & StyleArts & Entertainment Pictures Upload a pictureYour picturesNewsTravelBusinessLife & StyleArts & EntertainmentDesktop photos GN Focus IdexTabletsEatValentines DayBusiness EducationHealth CareIndiaSign Graphic International Green InitiativesDubai Shopping Festival In Focus Dubai Shopping FestivalDavosThe Awards SeasonNational Identity CardLife Challenge GNAds4U JobsWheelsPropertiesClassifiedsPlace an adFAQs Promotions GN WinnersGood LivingCompetitions Gulf News Mobile SMS Breaking News ServiceGulf News Tablet for the iPadGulf News iPhone mobile appGulf News Nokia mobile appWelcome to Aquarius Edit for tablet Other Al Nisr publications alpha \| Aquarius \| Campus Notes \| Friday \| InsideOut \| Scene \| tabloid! \| tabloid! on Saturday \| Weekend Review \| Wheels \| XPRESS \| Subscribe now for home delivery of the GulfNews print edition and our magazines About Gulf News The History of Gulf NewsHow to find Gulf NewsPrint SubscriptionsHelp & FAQsContact us Corporate Information Al Nisr PortfolioCompany NewsCareers at Gulf News Policies Code of EthicsGulf News Ethics PolicyGulf News Reader's PolicyPrivacy policy Advertising Guide Advertising Guide - Print Contract Publishing What We DoOur ClientsContact Us Commercial Printing What We DoFacilitiesContact Us © Al Nisr Publishing LLC 2013. 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November 6th, 2012, 08:49 AM	#61
Sinjar Iraqi User Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Mosul and KRG Posts: 8,392 Likes (Received): 492	$4 billion for new refinery in Karbala By Shaymaa Adel, Azzaman, November 1, 2012 The Ministry of Oil has allocated $4 billion for the construction of a new refinery in the southern Province of Karbala. The refinery will take four years to complete and it will be built by Iraqi technicians and engineers under the supervision of a team of international experts. “The Oil Ministry has earmarked $4 billion for the construction of a refinery in Karbala with a capacity of 150,000 barrels of oil a day,” said the ministry’s undersecretary for refineries and gas processing affairs, Ahmad al-Shamaa. Shamaa said Iraq wanted to increase its refining capacity currently estimated at more than 500,000 barrels a day to meet predictions of a rise in domestic consumption of fuel. Iraq was also keen to have a foot in the lucrative international trading in oil by-products, he added. Shamaa said the ministry had plans to construct three more major refineries, one with a capacity 300,000 barrels of oil the other two with a capacity of 150,000 barrels a day each. Iraq is expected to add 650,000 barrels to its refining capacity in four years, taking its total refining capacity to more than 1.1 million barrels a day.

December 9th, 2012, 01:28 PM	#63
*BigDreamer* Dreams of Babylon Rising Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 7,064 Likes (Received): 266	Iraq’s refining capacity to hit 750,000 bpd in 2013 Date: Sunday, December 09, 2012 Source: Azzaman Iraq’s refining capacity will increase from its current level of 600,000 bpd to 750,000 bpd next year, said Oil Ministry Undersecretary Ahmad al-Shamaa. But according to the report from Azzaman, the surge will still fall short of meeting the country’s domestic needs, with some of Iraq’s major refineries producing much less than their capacity due to shortages of crude. Iraq’s oil production is the highest in 30 years but it lacks the means to transport the crude to some of its refineries lying far away from producing oil fields. Shamaa said there were plans to build four more refineries in Iraq to propel refining capacity to 1.5 million barrels a day in four years.