DMEA: Progress at Haditha refinery

Iraq’s state-owned North Refineries Co. (NRC) has passed the half-way point in its project to upgrade and expand capacity at the Haditha refinery in Anbar Governorate.

Speaking to local press this week, the refinery’s director, Hassan Mardi Abdulaziz, said that the “project completion has exceeded 50%” as it works to more than double capacity from the current level of 16,000 barrels per day (bpd).

He said that the Heavy Engineering Equipment State Co. (HEESCO) “is manufacturing and installing two additional units, each unit having a capacity of 10,000 bpd, bringing the future capacity of the refinery to 36,000 bpd.”

Noting that output from the expanded refinery will help cater to growing local demand for gasoline, Abdulaziz said it would also “contribute to providing oil derivatives and reducing imports by adding hydrogenation units”.

The work is being carried out in collaboration with US firm Honeywell UOP following approval of a contract in March by the Iraqi Cabinet.