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Iraq Buys New Ships for Port Maintenance

By John Lee.

Iraq’s Ministry of Oil is increasing its in-house capacity to maintain its export terminals in southern Iraq, with the acquisition of new purpose-built ships.

The Executive Director of the Iraqi National Oil Company (INOC), Hamid Younis, said that Safwan (pictured) will arrive in the coming days. It has the capability to assist with maintenance of export facilities, in addition to fighting fires and generating electric power for emergency situations. Built by the Korean company ENM, it has an integrated diving system, and is particularly suited to the maintenance of single-point moorings (SPMs).

It joins the Abu Al-Fadl, which has already entered service, and which was designed for maintenance and treatment of oil spills in regional waters.

A third vessel, the Shanasheel, is hoped to enter service in March of next year. Larger than the other two, as it will carry out major maintenance works for the ports and can accommodate staff working in ports and loading platforms.

The acquisition by the Ministry and the  of these vessels is intended to reduced the costs currently paid to foreign companies.

(Source: Ministry of Oil)

The post Iraq Buys New Ships for Port Maintenance first appeared on Iraq Business News.

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BGC Exports first Semi-Refrigerated LPG Shipment

By John Lee.

Basrah Gas Company (BGC) has exported its first semi-refrigerated liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) shipment from Umm Qasr jetty.

The General Manager of BGC, Malcolm Mays, said the export of the first shipment of semi-refrigerated liquid gas is a great and historical achievement for Basra Gas Company, noting that this came as a result of working hard and continuously to achieve the strategic goal by rehabilitating Umm Qasr jetty and equipping it with chiller units to be used in export operations.

He added that BGC is able to load and export both types of liquid gas: pressurized and semi-refrigerated, through vessels, saying that this step gives the flexibility and the opportunity to triple exports globally via tankers, as it will double the exported quantity per shipment.

(Source: Ministry of Oil)

The post BGC Exports first Semi-Refrigerated LPG Shipment first appeared on Iraq Business News.

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Petrofac wins $160m Iraq Contract

Petrofac’s Engineering & Production Services (EPS) division has secured an award worth US$160 million from Basra Oil Company (BOC), previously known as South Oil Company (SOC), for its Iraq Crude Oil Export Expansion Project (ICOEEP).

The new two-year extension reflects Petrofac’s continued delivery focus and five-year track record as the incumbent operations and maintenance service provider.

The facility, which is responsible for a significant proportion of Iraq’s oil export, is located 60 kilometres (km) offshore the Al Fao Peninsula in Southern Iraq. It comprises a central metering and manifold platform and four Single Point Moorings (SPMs) which facilitate oil export onto awaiting crude carrier tankers.

In addition, Petrofac is responsible for almost 300 km of subsea pipelines,1800 metres of subsea hose infrastructure and a marine spread comprising 14 vessels.

Mani Rajapathy, Managing Director, Engineering & Production Services East, said:

“We are delighted to continue with our role in support of this key crude export facility. Since the start of our involvement in 2012, we have exported more than 2.2 billion barrels of oil while retaining an impeccable safety record. We have also remained focused on adding value for our client through the deployment of innovative and differentiated solutions.”

Ihsan Ismaael, Director General, Basra Oil Company, said:

“Petrofac is a key partner for BOC. The team has supported us over the last five years to significantly increase export from the ICOEEP facility and we look forward to continuing our relationship into 2019.”

(Source: Petrofac)

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Iraq Increases Oil Export Capacity

By John Lee.

Oil Minister Jabar Ali al-Luaibi [Allibi, Luiebi] (pictured) has said that oil export capacity at Iraq’s southern ports has increased to 4.6 million barrels per day (bpd), following the completion of its fifth single floating terminal.

The new terminal has a capacity of 900,000 bpd.

The Minister said Iraq will continue to expand its production and export capacity.

(Source: Ministry of Oil)