Work begins on Diwaniyah refinery expansion to add 70,000 bpd capacity

BAGHDAD — Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani on Monday inaugurated the implementation phase of the Al-Diwaniyah Refinery Expansion Project via video conference, initiating work to boost refining capacity by 70,000 barrels per day.

“This project aligns with the government’s vision of converting 40% of Iraq’s produced oil into refining and downstream industries to meet domestic demand and support exports,” Al-Sudani said, according to a statement from his media office.

He said that Iraq is approaching “full self-sufficiency” in oil derivatives and expects to begin exports once refinery upgrades in Maysan, Diwaniyah, and Najaf are completed.

Statement from Al-Sudani’s media office:

Prime Minister Mohammed S. Al-Sudani inaugurated today, Monday, via video conference, the implementation phase of Al-Diwaniyah Refinery Expansion Project, which involves the addition of new refining units with a capacity of 70,000 barrels per day, bringing the refinery’s total refining capacity to 90,000 barrels per day.

The Prime Minister affirmed that this project aligns with the government’s vision of converting 40% of Iraq’s produced oil into refining and downstream industries to meet domestic demand and support exports. He noted that with the commissioning of several refinery projects, Iraq is approaching full self-sufficiency in oil derivatives and will move toward exporting petroleum products upon completion of refinery expansions in Maysan, Al-Diwaniyah, and Al-Najaf Al-Ashraf.

Prime Minister Al-Sudani commended the teams working on the project, noting that Diwaniyah Province lacks major projects. He emphasized that this refinery expansion will help stimulate economic activity and create numerous job opportunities. He further affirmed that refinery expansion projects represent one of the most important avenues for enhancing the expertise of Iraq’s youth and developing and investing in the country’s oil wealth.

The Prime Minister highlighted that the $800 million project includes units for processing liquefied gas with a capacity of 180 tons per day, a gasoline improvement unit with a capacity of 10,000 barrels per day, expanded production of white oil, gas oil, and fuel oil, a naphtha isomerization unit (8,000 bpd), a naphtha hydrotreating unit (18,000 bpd), as well as nitrogen production facility, storage and pumping stations, and power generation units.

Prime Minister Al-Sudani expressed his strong confidence in the private sector as a partner in implementing strategic projects and his greater confidence in national capabilities to carry out joint projects and maximize revenues from Iraq’s oil wealth.