DMEA: Iraq refining and Gwadar cancellation

In DMEA this week, we look at the progress made by Iraq on improving its refining sector and Saudi Arabia’s decision to move a planned refinery in Pakistan.

Iraq’s Ministry of Oil announced the partial rehabilitation of the Salah al-Din refinery and completion of projects to increase fuel output. During a visit to the Doura refinery near Baghdad, Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar spoke of intentions to cut the government’s gasoline import bill by up to 50% by the end of the year as part of a wider plan to end imports of the fuel by 2023, backed by new and upgrade projects in the refining sector. His comments came as the state-owned Midland Refineries Co. announced the completion of three projects at Daura that will increase the projection of higher-octane gasoline and light derivatives.

Abdul Jabbar was shown the refinery’s new isomerisation unit, a new hydrogen plant and tanks for storing light derivatives.

He said that isomerisation unit would increase production of improved quality gasoline with the hydrogen facility to contribute to the production of light derivatives, including higher-grade gasoline.

Abdul Jabbar added that MRC’s new projects would “reduce the import value of oil derivatives by 90% by the end of 2022, in addition to providing job opportunities”. This would save the country around $2bn per year.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has said it will no longer build an oil refinery at Pakistan’s deepwater port of Gwadar in Balochistan Province, shifting the facility to Karachi alongside a new petrochemical complex. The news comes as the firm hired to carry out a feasibility study on the Gwadar unit said it had advised its Saudi client against proceeding.