New Iraqi refinery to start commercial ops in March

Iraq's new 140,000 b/d Karbala refinery is on track to begin commercial operations in March and should be running at full capacity by August, according to oil minister Hayan Abdulghani.

Abdulghani gave the timeline during a visit to the refinery south of Baghdad, where trial operations began in September last year.

"The preliminary products, which includes gasoline, kerosine and diesel, from the trial phase of the refinery's first 70,000 b/d unit match the required specifications," Abdulghani said. "Mid-March has been set as the date for the beginning of commercial production, designed to gradually increase until reaching full capacity end of July."

Abdulghani said the refinery will have the capacity to produce 8mn-9m litres/d (50,000-57,000 b/d) of 95-octane gasoline but he said this could be increased to 12mn l/d (75,000 b/d) in the future. Karbala will cover 75pc of Iraq's domestic oil product consumption, he said, adding that the rest will be met locally once other new refineries are developed.

Karbala is Iraq's first new refinery in decades and was initially due on stream in 2018, but the project was beset by delays because of pressure on Iraq's finances, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic when oil prices plummeted. The refinery's production will meet European standards.

By Bachar Halabi