Iraq Seeks Investors to Build Refinery

Iraq is inviting companies to bid for building a 70,000-bpd oil refinery near the town of Haditha in the Anbar Governorate, the oil ministry said. Investors willing to take part in the tender have until June 14, 2018, to file offers, the ministry said, Oil Price reported. The Anbar refinery project is offered on a Build-Own-Operate or a Build-Own-Operate-Transfer basis. Building the refinery is part of Iraq’s program to boost oil processing capacity and reduce the import of oil products. Earlier this week, Iraq’s Oil Ministry said the country aims to reduce its oil product imports by 25%, as it is seeking to refurbish and restart oil refineries after it expelled the self-styled Islamic State terrorist group from its territory, without giving a timeline for that 25% import reduction. Iraq, OPEC’s second-largest oil producer, is adding more production units at refineries in the central and southern parts of the country and is producing more oil products from processing natural gas liquids.