Total Eying Oil Refinery in Iraq

French oil major Total is interested in bidding to build the greenfield 150,000 barrels per day Nassirya Oil Refinery in Iraq, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Last year, the Iraqi Oil Ministry said Petrochina was also interested in the refinery project, Reuters reported. The refinery project was originally envisioned with a 300,000-bpd capacity that would be integrated with the development of the Nassirya Oilfield. Bids are still open for the project and international oil companies interested in the project would be bidding as refiners only, Director General of Iraq’s Dhi Qar Oil Company Ali Warid Hammood said on the sidelines of CWC’s Iraq Petroleum Conference in Berlin. Hammood said Dhi Qar has now taken on the development of the field by itself. The field is currently producing 80,000-100,000 barrels per day and the company plans to double production capacity to 200,000 bpd within the next three years. But production levels are expected to remain stable this year.