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Ministerial Energy Council urges Progress on Refineries

By John Lee.

At the most recent meeting of Iraq’s Ministerial Energy Council, headed by Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar Ismail, the Council decided that the South Refineries Company (SRC) should “take the necessary steps” to develop the Shuaiba refinery in Basra Governorate.

It also urged the acceleration of work on the 140,000-bpd Karbala oil refinery, and recommended the study of the final steps for the development and expansion of the Al-Diwaniyah Refinery.

(Source: Ministry of Oil)

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Axens to support Basrah Refinery Upgrading Project

By John Lee.

French-based Axens — part of the IFP Energies Nouvelles group — has said it is pleased to continue working with JGC Corporation on the Basrah Refinery Upgrading Project.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi laid the foundation stone for the $4bn-project.

In a statement, the company said:

Part of Iraq’s Ministry of Oil, the state-owned South Refineries Company (SRC) executed the upgrading of its refinery located in Basrah, Iraq by implementing a new refining plant adjacent to the existing refinery facility. The Basrah Upgrading Project is now reaching the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) phase carried out by JGC Corporation (JGC).

Axens is pleased to continue being involved in this important Iraqi project, which will increase the gasoline and diesel production along with other oil products, reducing the national refined products imports. The Basrah Upgrading Project will also improve oil refinery efficiency of the complete facility.

Different Axens’ technologies were selected and will be used:

  • a Diesel hydrotreatment unit (Prime-DTM)
  • a VGO Hydrotreating unit
  • a VGO FCC unit
  • an oligomerization unit (PolynaphthaTM)

Thus, an integrated scheme around the FCC unit is implemented thanks to Axens’ unique position for a complete FCC suite of technologies from pre-treatment to post-treatment. The PolynaphthaTM technology downstream the FCC unit for oligomerization of light olefins aims at maximizing gasoline production.

With this award, another reference is added to the long list of more than 300 FCC projects. Industrial successes in this domain keep the FCC Alliance as a global leader with a track record of 4 new grassroots FCC units started up in the past 4 years.

In addition, Axens will provide catalysts & adsorbents, key technology features such as proprietary equipment, trainings and technical services.

Jacques Rault, Conversion & clean fuels Business Line Director, Process Licensing at Axens, said:

“The Basrah refinery is expanding its operations by increasing its gasoline and diesel production while improving the fuels quality. This will help to solve one of the main challenges to lower national petroleum products imports revitalizing the Iraqi refining sector damaged by war and deterioration. South Refineries Company selected Axens for its wide and proven experience in refining as a partner to supply technologies but also to support throughout the whole project.“

Ibraheem Al-Salihi, FCC Project Manager, South Refineries Company, said:

“The Iraqi Ministry of Oil and the Southern Refineries Company with the support of the Japanese government represented by the JICA Organization are doing great work to complete the Basrah Refinery Development / FCC Project by adopting the latest technologies and designs provided by Axens. With the construction contract signed with the Japanese company JGC on October 1, 2020 and then activated on February 15, 2021, the project activities started according to the agreed schedule. Among other developments, we are pleased to complete this vital and important project that supports the production of oil derivatives meeting international standards and environmental requirements adopted in this field and relieves the burden of oil products imports.”

(Source: Axens)

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Iraqi PM lays Foundation Stone for $4bn Refinery Project

By John Lee.

Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi has laid the foundation stone for the South Refineries Company (SRC)‘s new Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) complex at Basrah Refinery.

The project will be built by Japan’s JGC Corporation, and will increase refinery capacity by 55,000 barrels per day (bpd).

It will be funded by a loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

More information here, here and here.

(Sources: Iraqi Ministry of Oil, Office of the Iraqi Prime Minister)

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Chinese Consortium to Develop Dhi Qar Refinery

By John Lee.

Iraq’s Ministry of Oil has signed an outline agreement with a Chinese consortium for the development of the Dhi Qar refinery.

A Ministry official described the signing of the initial principles agreement as an important step forward, and a prelude to the signing of the final investment contract for the Dhi Qar refinery project, which will have a capacity of 100,000 barrels per day (bpd).

The Director General of the Southern Refineries Company (SRC), Hussam Wali, said that the final signature of the contract will be made “after the completion of the economic model of the investment contract“, and it is hoped that this will take place within three months.

The consortium consists of Chinese state-owned arms manufacturer Norinco (which owns ZhenHua Oil), Power China (Power Construction Corporation of China), CNEC (China Nuclear Engineering & Construction?) and the UAE Company for Middle Services Ltd.

(Source: Ministry of Oil)

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JGC signs Contract for Basra Refinery Upgrade

By John Lee.

Yesterday (Thursday), the South Refineries Company (SRC) and Iraq’s Ministry of Oil (MOO) signed the contract with Japan’s JGC Corporation to start construction of a new Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) Complex at Basrah Refinery.

The project is funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)‘s ODA (Official Development Assistance) loan project.

The contract ceremony was successfully held at the Governmental Palace with the presence of H.E. Mr. Ihsan Abdul Jabbar Ismael, Minister of Oil, H.E. Dr. Eng. Khaled Battal Najim Abdullah Al-Jujifi, Minister of Planning, Mr. Husam Hussein Weli, Director General, SRC, Mr. Shu Nakagawa, Charge d’Affaires ad interim, Embassy of Japan in Iraq, Mr. Yutaka Yamazaki, President of JGC Corporation, and Mr. Kei Toyama, Chief Representative of JICA Iraq Office.  At the sideline of the ceremony, H.E. Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi hosted the meeting with the participants.

For this project named “Basrah Refinery Upgrading Project (I)(II)“, JICA has so far concluded three loan agreements for:

  1. engineering services loan in the amount of JPY 2,079 million [$20 million];
  2. first tranche loan in the amount of JPY 42,435 million [$403 million]; and,
  3. second tranche loan of JPY 110,000 million [$1.04 billion].

This project is the largest Japanese ODA loan project in Iraq. Under the assistance of JICA’s concessional loans (low interest rate at 0.20% and the repayment period of 40 years including 10-year grace period). It is expected to be completed in 2025.

According to a statement from JICA, the project to construct Iraq’s first-ever FCC Complex will unleash the potential of Iraq’s refining sector to produce the larger volume of the high-value outputs, promote the transfer of refining technologies from Japan and help save valuable foreign currencies to import huge amount of fuels.

It says the new plant will also reduce sulfur content in the oil products in accordance with the international environmental standards, adding:

“The project is expected to pave the way for energizing private sector involvement in the downstream of Iraq’s energy industry and provide economic and employment opportunities for the people of Iraq, especially in Basrah.

“JICA looks forward to the collaborative efforts made by Iraqi government and the contractor to overcome every challenge to be encountered during project implementation, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.  JICA reaffirms its commitment to making every possible means to support in delivering the project benefits and realizing its effectiveness.“

(Source: JICA)

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Japanese Firm awarded $3.7bn Iraq Deal

JGC Holdings Corporation announced today that JGC Corporation, which operates the overseas engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) business of the JGC Group, has been received the Letter of Award for the Basrah Refinery Upgrading Project for an Iraqi oil refining company under the Iraqi Ministry of Oil. Details of the project are as follows.

 
1. Client South Refineries Company

(Oil refining company under the Iraqi Ministry of Oil)
2. Construction location Basrah, Republic of Iraq

(Approx. 550 km SE of the capital of Baghdad)
3. Primary equipment(processing abilities) Fluid catalytic cracking unit (34,500 barrels/day),
vacuum distillation unit (55,000 barrels/day),
diesel desulfurization unit (40,000 barrels/day), etc.
4. Contract services Engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning
5. Contract type Lump sum contract
6. Order amount Approx. 400 billion JPY
7. Scheduled completion 2025

Iraq is one of the world’s leading oil-producing countries, with a confirmed crude oil reserve of 145 billion barrels and a daily crude oil production of 4.41 million barrels. However, the two refineries currently in operation were constructed in the 1970s and their production capacity has decreased due to war damage and deterioration. Unable to meet domestic demand for petroleum products, Iraq has to import petroleum products such as gasoline.

This upgrading of the Basrah refinery will newly install, on land adjacent to the existing Basrah refinery, fluid catalytic cracking unit, vacuum distillation unit, and diesel desulfurization unit, etc., thereby increasing production to 19,000 barrels/day of gasoline and 36,000 barrels/day of diesel fuel, making it possible to reduce the gap in supply and demand for petroleum products.

In addition, the petroleum products produced at the modernized refinery will meet international environmental standards and it is expected that they will contribute to reducing the environmental impact. This project is positioned as spearheading the modernization and sophistication of Iraq’s oil refining sector.

Funding for the project will be procured through Japanese ODA loans from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and is the largest-scale reconstruction assistance from Japan since the 2003 Iraq War.

In carrying out this project, the Group plans to conduct skills training for more than 1,000 Iraqis and to hire approximately 7,000 skilled Iraqi workers. Furthermore, it is expected that more than 2,000 operating personnel jobs will be created after the project’s completion, which will contribute to solving the unemployment problem in Iraq

The Group completed a power station reconstruction project in Iraq in 2013, and this is the Group’s second project in Iraq. The Group will contribute to the reconstruction and economic development of Iraq through the successful completion of this project.

(Source: JGC)

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Aggreko signs Contract with North Refineries Company

UK-based Aggreko (Middle East) and Iraq’s North Refineries Company have signed a contract for rental of temporary power generators to supply 15MW of power to Baiji Refinery as a first stage.

For Aggreko, the world’s largest supplier of temporary power, which also supplies South Refineries Company with 25MW,

This contract will help broaden the partnership between Aggreko, the world’s largest supplier of temporary power, and the Ministry of Oil and its affiliate companies, and is a demonstration of the collaboration between both entities.

Aggreko also supplies South Refineries Company with 25MW of power.

(Source: Eurogulf)