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Dubai: Iraq, holder of the world's third- largest crude oil reserves, plans to build four new refineries with a total capacity of 750,000 barrels a day as the country seeks to raise its fuel production to meet local demand.
The cabinet approved one plant to be built in the Kirkuk province in the north and another in the Maysan province in the south, Asim Jihad, spokes-man for the Oil Ministry, said in a telephone interview on Monday. Each refinery will have a capacity of 150,000 barrels a day.
The government also approved plans to build a 300,000 barrel-a-day refinery in Nasiriyah, which will export refined products when it is completed, and a 150,000 barrel-a-day plant in Karbala, Jihad said. International oil companies can bid on contracts to build the plants.
"The refineries will meet demand in the local market," Jihad said. "Excess supply from the three smaller refineries will be exported."
Iraq has struggled to alleviate shortages of gasoline, kerosene and diesel across the country because of attacks against the country's oil pipeline network and a shortage of spare parts.
Repeated disruptions
Baiji, the country's largest refinery with a capacity of 310,000 barrels a day, operates at about 75 per cent capacity because of repeated disruptions and power outages, according to information on the Web site of the US Energy Information Administration.
The Oil Ministry said last month it will add 70,000 barrels a day in capacity to the 110,000 barrel-a-day refinery in Doura, the main supplier of fuel to Baghdad. Iraq also started producing refined products at the 10,000 barrel-a-day refinery in Diwaniya, located 180 kilometres south of Baghdad,
The country now has a refining capacity of about 597,500 barrels a day.
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