Saves $10B: Iraq unveils Basra refinery to end fuel imports

Shafaq News – Basra (updated at 15:14)

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said on Saturday that Iraq is moving toward full energy self-sufficiency, highlighting plans to save about $10 billion by ending fuel and gas imports.

Speaking at the inauguration of a new Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) unit at the South Refineries Company in Basra, al-Sudani described the $3-billion facility as a “historic milestone” for the country’s oil industry.

Built in partnership with Hyundai Engineering and Japan’s JICA, the unit can process 107,000 barrels of oil per day using Euro-5-standard, environmentally friendly technology.

Al-Sudani said his government aims to convert 40 percent of Iraq’s crude exports into refined, high-value products by 2030 — up from 35 percent today — after what he called two decades of stalled refinery development.

He added that the 300,000-barrel-per-day Faw investment refinery will begin operations “very soon.”

Deputy Prime Minister for Energy and Oil Minister Hayan Abdul-Ghani asserted that the FCC unit will produce high-octane (95-grade) gasoline—“the best quality ever made in Iraq”—bringing the country to self-sufficiency in refined fuels.

Meanwhile, security forces dispersed a protest of oil-sector graduates outside the refinery during the ceremony. Demonstrators, who have camped for months demanding employment in state-run energy firms, told Shafaq News they were frustrated that Basra’s residents “see no share” of the province’s oil wealth.