Iraq New Karbala Refinery To Start Commercial Operations In March

Iraq's new 140,000 b/d Karbala refinery is on track to begin commercial operations in March and should be running at full capacity by August, according to oil minister Hayan Abdulghani.

• "The preliminary products, which includes gasoline, kerosine and diesel, from the trial phase of the refinery's first 70,000 b/d unit match the required specifications. Mid-March has been set as the date for the beginning of commercial production, designed to gradually increase until reaching full capacity end of July", Abdulghani said.
• The refinery will have the capacity to produce 50,000-57,000 b/d of 95-octane gasoline and this could be increased to 75,000b/d in the future, he said.
• Trial operations at the refinery began end September. Karbala was initially due online in 2018, but the project was beset by delays because of pressure on Iraq's finances.