debrobb
09-04-2008, 11:43 AM
04 September 2008
Baziyan Refinery set to start production next month with a 10,000-barrel-per-day capacity.
One of the most significant oil projects in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, which is expected to reduce the fuel shortage in the region, is near completion and hopefully will start production this September.
Work on the Baziyan Refinery started in 2006 and was expected to finish earlier this year, but due to security issues and other difficulties, it was not finished in time. However, despite those challenges, the company building the refinery has been able to complete 85% of the project.
The project's budget was supposed to be allocated by the central government since Kurdistan is part of Iraq and every oil project has to be approved and financed by Baghdad. However, the central government has only funded the first stage of the project and the completion phase is funded by the KRG. National and regional funds combined total 62 billion Iraqi Dinars (approximately US$52 million).
After completion, the refinery will process 10,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
Ahmed Arif, head of Suleimaniya Oil's media department, said that the products of the refinery will be kerosene oil, gasoline, benzene, and black oil (used in asphalt manufacturing). The products will be supplied to the local market and solve a main part of the fuel shortage that the region has been suffering through for the past three years.
Another important aspect of the project, besides the fuel production, is the prospect of employment for local high- and low-skilled labor. Arif claimed that they are planning to employ local staff only and not depend on imported labor.
Arif said that the produced fuel from the Baziyan Refinery is expected to supply 85% of the region's fuel needs. However, he suggested that the government look further into the future and think of other such projects since the demand for fuel will only increase as the population and the number of cars grow rapidly.
Though the project is near completion, it still suffers from several shortcomings needing immediate address, such as lack of a pipeline transporting crude oil to the refinery as well as a water pipeline supplying water to the site. Yet another task pending is the construction of an 82-million-liter tank for storing refined products.
Though the amount of production of the refinery is such that the fuel supply in the region will increase significantly, as Arif said, this will not make significant changes in the price of fuel in the market since the price is set by outside forces and neither the Iraqi nor the Kurdistan governments can reduce the price.
This is due to the fact that Iraq is forced to increase domestic fuel prices since it depends on the debts that Iraq has received from the International Monetary Fund. Besides, until Iraq has the right to trade with its own currency and set domestic fuel prices, it will not be able to set a price ceiling on fuel products.
http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidZAWYA20080904051548
Baziyan Refinery set to start production next month with a 10,000-barrel-per-day capacity.
One of the most significant oil projects in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, which is expected to reduce the fuel shortage in the region, is near completion and hopefully will start production this September.
Work on the Baziyan Refinery started in 2006 and was expected to finish earlier this year, but due to security issues and other difficulties, it was not finished in time. However, despite those challenges, the company building the refinery has been able to complete 85% of the project.
The project's budget was supposed to be allocated by the central government since Kurdistan is part of Iraq and every oil project has to be approved and financed by Baghdad. However, the central government has only funded the first stage of the project and the completion phase is funded by the KRG. National and regional funds combined total 62 billion Iraqi Dinars (approximately US$52 million).
After completion, the refinery will process 10,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
Ahmed Arif, head of Suleimaniya Oil's media department, said that the products of the refinery will be kerosene oil, gasoline, benzene, and black oil (used in asphalt manufacturing). The products will be supplied to the local market and solve a main part of the fuel shortage that the region has been suffering through for the past three years.
Another important aspect of the project, besides the fuel production, is the prospect of employment for local high- and low-skilled labor. Arif claimed that they are planning to employ local staff only and not depend on imported labor.
Arif said that the produced fuel from the Baziyan Refinery is expected to supply 85% of the region's fuel needs. However, he suggested that the government look further into the future and think of other such projects since the demand for fuel will only increase as the population and the number of cars grow rapidly.
Though the project is near completion, it still suffers from several shortcomings needing immediate address, such as lack of a pipeline transporting crude oil to the refinery as well as a water pipeline supplying water to the site. Yet another task pending is the construction of an 82-million-liter tank for storing refined products.
Though the amount of production of the refinery is such that the fuel supply in the region will increase significantly, as Arif said, this will not make significant changes in the price of fuel in the market since the price is set by outside forces and neither the Iraqi nor the Kurdistan governments can reduce the price.
This is due to the fact that Iraq is forced to increase domestic fuel prices since it depends on the debts that Iraq has received from the International Monetary Fund. Besides, until Iraq has the right to trade with its own currency and set domestic fuel prices, it will not be able to set a price ceiling on fuel products.
http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidZAWYA20080904051548