Page 17 - DMEA Week 46

DMEA REFINING DMEA

Iraq invites international bids for

300,000 bpd al-Faw refinery

IRAQ IRAQ intends to invite international firms to bid The facility was damaged during the ISIS inva-
for the construction of a 300,000 barrel per day sion and occupation, and again when it was
The plant will be (bpd) refinery in its south, Oil Minister Ihsan retaken by Iraqi forces.
erected under a build Ismaael said on November 18. Sumood’s capacity is expected to be restored
operate transferor build The OPEC producer is eager to build out its to 280,000 bpd within two years, making it once
own operate transfer refining sector to wean itself off fuel imports, but again the country’s biggest oil refinery.
investment model. Iraq’s dire fiscal crisis means it needs interna- Iraq also hopes to bring the 140,000 bpd Kar-
tional investment to take projects forward. bala refinery south-west of Baghdad on stream
The new refinery will be erected in the port of in the first quarter of 2022.
al-Faw in the Basra governorate, under a build The country has a raft of other greenfield
operate transfer or build own operate transfer refining projects in the works, including plants
investment model, Ismaael said. Petrochemicals in Kirkuk (70,000 bpd), Wasit (140,000 bpd),
production would be added to the facility at a Nasiriyah (140,000 bpd) and Basrah (140,000
later stage. bpd). In September, Ismaael also said the gov-
Iraq signed a contract for the project with ernment was in talks with Eni on the develop-
Chinese companies PowerChina and Norinco ment of a 300,000 bpd refinery near the Zubair
International in 2018, but that deal fell through. oilfield which the Italian major operates.
The Iraqi government aims to boost national Iraqi gasoline and gasoil imports came to
throughput capacity to around 910,000 bpd by around 50,000 bpd and 25,000 bpd respectively
early 2022, with the help of two key projects. in the first nine months of the year, down from
In September Ismaael ordered the capacity of 65,000 bpd and 30,000 bpd a year earlier. Iraqi
the Sumood refinery in Baiji to be raised from fuel demand slumped this year due to coronavi-
75,000 bpd to 140,000 bpd in a matter of months. rus containment measures. ™

PETROCHEMICALS

Dow, Saudi firm partner at PAA,

emulsion polymers project

SAUDI ARABIA US chemicals giant Dow has teamed up with investment would help develop “more robust
Saudi engineering firm Al-Hejailan to build a and expansive downstream manufacturing
The plant will have a polyacrylic acid (PAA) and emulsion polymers capabilities in the kingdom.” Dow CFO Howard
40,000 tpy capacity. plant in Saudi Arabia. Ungerleider echoed these words.
The pair will form a joint venture for the pro- The plant will have a 40,000 tonne per year
ject, with Al-Hejailan holding a 75% interest (tpy) capacity and will be built and operated
and Dow 25%, they said on November 12. They by Al-Heilan in the Plaschem Park in Jubail.
are targeting growing demand for coatings and Dow will provide its manufacturing technol-
water treatment applications in the kingdom and ogies and oversee the marketing of its pro-
the broader Middle East region, and also want to duction. Construction is scheduled to start in
penetrate other markets. 2021, with the plant due on stream two years
Al-Hejailan CEO Faisal Al-Hejailan said the later. ™

Week 46 19•November•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P17