In Iraq, a new refinery was inaugurated this Saturday, April 2, in Kerbala, south-west of Baghdad. A project launched to reduce Iraq’s dependence on fuel imports.
With our correspondent in Iraq, Marie-Charlotte Rupee
Fifth largest oil reserve in the world, Iraq exports an average of 3.3 million barrels of crude oil per day. But when it comes to fuels from refined petroleum, the country depends on imports for half of its needs.
The fourth refinery in the country
This new refinery inaugurated in Karbala, the fourth in the country, should therefore enable Iraq to be more independent in meeting local demand for gasoline, kerosene and fuel oil. AT In the long term, the plant should refine 140,000 barrels, or nine million liters of fuel produced per day, thus reducing daily imports by half.
Size issues
This project, carried out by the South Korean company Hyundai, includes electricity production, part of which will be reserved for the national grid. Fuel and electricity are major issues in the country where access to electricity in homes depends – in periods of extreme cold and extreme heat – on expensive and polluting private generators.
►Read also :