Foreign investments for boosting capacity of oil in Iraq

French company, specialized in the management of energy producing installations, Technip has received a ‘significant contract’ in the second phase of oil refinery project in the Iraqi province of Karbala. Iraq’s desire for foreign investments in its oil sector has opened up doors of opportunity for many countries and many companies from different parts of the globe. As a company Technip holds strong reputation and a very comprehensive work portfolio. The company is looking forward to keep its reputation alive through meticulous and effective deeds.
In statement, issued by Technip, it has been revealed that the Iraqi State Company for Oil Projects awarded it a “significant contract for project management consultancy services for the engineering, procurement and construction phase of the Karbala refinery.”
The French company also added that the company is happy and it would like to appreciate the Iraqi government for issuing this ‘prize’ award to the company. The company has previously worked in the Karbala refinery in the basic designing project. The project was initiated in the year of 2010 and has reached a goal of 150,000 barrels per day.
Technip describes itself as a specialized company in the sector of project management, engineering and construction for the energy industry. The company has worked in different parts of the world and presently it is employing more than 36000 people in its ongoing projects in 48 countries throughout the world.
It has to be noted that due to lack of infrastructure, Iraq suffers from chronic shortage of oil derivatives quite often. The refineries are unable due to the lack in infrastructure and technologies. This leads to import of the oil derivatives from the different neighboring countries. Basically, all these imports are done from the rivalry country Iran.
The Deputy Oil Minister for Downstream Refineries Fayadh Nima said that Iraq’s refineries now produced approximately 800,000 barrels per day. In an interview, he stated, “Iraq has three main refineries and 10 smaller ones, which produce around 800,000 barrels per day.” He stressed on not only oil production, but also put pressure on the oil refinery.
He also said, “The exceptional circumstances experienced by the country disrupted its ability to develop its refineries; but the Oil Ministry was now intent on promoting this sector by maintaining and modernizing its existing installations, while working toward introducing new production units into service.”
In Iraq, three main oil refineries are there, which are distributed throughout the country. They are al-Doura refinery in Baghdad province (center), the Baiji refinery in Saladin province (north) and the Basra refinery (south), as well as 10 smaller refineries distributed among other provinces.
MP Bayazid Hassan, member of the Parliamentary Committee on Energy, stated, “The only solution for the oil derivatives crisis in Iraq is to resort to investments aimed at building new refineries.” He remarked that Iraq lacks needed resources for building new refineries. This is a severe problem and the country needs to get rid of this situation soon. In 2006, Iraqi parliament had adopted a law, which governs investments in the oil refinery sector. However, this new legal framework was not enough for attracting investors indeed.
Iraq announced that its petroleum exports decreased in May — from 2.62 million barrels per day in April to 2.48 million barrels per day in May — as a result of the slowdown in oil shipments from Kirkuk after repeated attacks on the pipeline and maintenance work in the south.
Furthermore, the flow of oil from Iraq to Turkey through the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline stopped in the month of May. It has to be noted that this pipeline carries crude oil from Kirkuk to the Turkish port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean Sea.