Oil Minister: We seek to raise the refining capacity to 350 thousand barrels per day

Baghdad-INA 

Oil Minister Hayan Abdul-Ghani confirmed, on Friday, the ministry's endeavor to raise the refining capacity of the South Refineries Company to 350 thousand barrels per day.

Abdul Ghani said during his visit to the South Refineries Company, according to a statement issued by the ministry, received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), that "the Ministry of Oil is keen to raise the rates of refining capacity of the South Refineries Company to (350,000 barrels) per day, within the framework of its interest in the liquidation sector, which is no less than It is more important than other oil sectors because of its importance in the lives of citizens, and an important factor in providing their main needs through the production and refining of petroleum products and securing local consumption in order to achieve the goal of self-sufficiency.

Abdul Ghani added, "The southern refineries are today one of the largest Iraqi refineries in terms of production and the large volume of work they are doing in meeting the needs of citizens and consumers of oil products despite the challenges and economic and health crises that the country faced during the past period, but the workers in the southern refineries were level of responsibility through their distinguished efforts to continue work and production.

He pointed out that "the ministry has provided great support to the development of southern refineries by sponsoring projects to increase production and improve its quality in accordance with international standards and specifications," noting that "the refineries are witnessing today the implementation of the FCC project in cooperation with a Japanese company with a production capacity of 55 thousand barrels per day, which is after Its completion will be considered one of the most modern facilities that convert waste and black oil into white products through a modern technology called FCC catalytic refining, and it is one of the large and promising projects in the refinery sector in Iraq.”.

He stressed that "the quality of production in this project will be in accordance with the European specifications (Euro 5) that are friendly to the environment," noting that "
The minister instructed to "overcome all obstacles and problems facing the implementation of projects and move forward with the implementation of the company's plans on the specified and scheduled dates.".

The statement added, "On the sidelines of the visit, the minister met with the Japanese delegation that was visiting the company, and it includes a representative of the Japanese Foreign Ministry and the Japanese company JICA, in addition to the Japanese ambassador in Baghdad, stressing his high appreciation for Japan, which has historical relations with Iraq, and there is a quest to open new horizons for joint cooperation." in the oil and energy sector.