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Iraq hopes to start building new refinery in 2011
<BLOCKQUOTE class="postcontent restore">BASRA, Iraq, June 3 (Reuters) - Iraq hopes to complete negotiations with European investors to build a new oil refinery in the city of Kerbala and start construction this year, the country's deputy prime minister said on Friday.
The projected 140,000 barrel per day Kerbala refinery is part of plans by the OPEC oil producer to build four new refineries to add around 750,000 bpd of refining capacity at an estimated cost of more than $20 billion.
"We hope to finish negotiations with European investors regarding the Kerbala refinery and to begin work this year," Deputy Prime Minister Hussain al-Shahristani, who has responsibility for Iraq's energy affairs, told reporters.
He said the Kerbala refinery was expected to be completed in three to four years.
Shahristani said that with the planned additional refining capacity, on top of the country's existing refining capacity of 500,000-550,000 bpd, Iraq would turn from an importer into an important exporter of refined oil products.
According to the OPEC website, Iraq produces about 453,000 bpd of refined products and uses 589,000 bpd.
Last month, Deputy Oil Minister Ahmed al-Shamma said Italy's ENI (ENI.MI: Quote) had expressed interest in the Kerbala refinery project, which was valued at $4-$4.5 billion.
The other three new refining facilities in the national refinery expansion plan would be located at Nassiriya in south Iraq, in the northern oil city of Kirkuk and at Maysan in the south.
Shahristani said Iraq was also upgrading its existing 140,000 bpd Basra refinery.
Iraq has signed a series of deals with global oil companies in an ambitious plan to increase its crude output capacity to 12 million bpd by 2017 from 2.7 million bpd currently. But most analysts see 6-7 million bpd as a more realistic target.
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="postcontent restore">BASRA, Iraq, June 3 (Reuters) - Iraq hopes to complete negotiations with European investors to build a new oil refinery in the city of Kerbala and start construction this year, the country's deputy prime minister said on Friday.
The projected 140,000 barrel per day Kerbala refinery is part of plans by the OPEC oil producer to build four new refineries to add around 750,000 bpd of refining capacity at an estimated cost of more than $20 billion.
"We hope to finish negotiations with European investors regarding the Kerbala refinery and to begin work this year," Deputy Prime Minister Hussain al-Shahristani, who has responsibility for Iraq's energy affairs, told reporters.
He said the Kerbala refinery was expected to be completed in three to four years.
Shahristani said that with the planned additional refining capacity, on top of the country's existing refining capacity of 500,000-550,000 bpd, Iraq would turn from an importer into an important exporter of refined oil products.
According to the OPEC website, Iraq produces about 453,000 bpd of refined products and uses 589,000 bpd.
Last month, Deputy Oil Minister Ahmed al-Shamma said Italy's ENI (ENI.MI: Quote) had expressed interest in the Kerbala refinery project, which was valued at $4-$4.5 billion.
The other three new refining facilities in the national refinery expansion plan would be located at Nassiriya in south Iraq, in the northern oil city of Kirkuk and at Maysan in the south.
Shahristani said Iraq was also upgrading its existing 140,000 bpd Basra refinery.
Iraq has signed a series of deals with global oil companies in an ambitious plan to increase its crude output capacity to 12 million bpd by 2017 from 2.7 million bpd currently. But most analysts see 6-7 million bpd as a more realistic target.
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