Iraq’s Oil Ministry has unveiled plans to develop a new 300 kb/d refinery that will be built on the Al-Faw peninsula in southern Iraq. The refinery will be awarded as an investment project and will potentially include a petrochemical plant. The Oil Ministry has specified that the project will be officially announced once an agreement is reached with a company or a consortium of companies for the development of the refinery.
In March 2023, Iraq announced its intention to seek investors to build seven refineries with a total capacity of 440,000 bbl/d in various parts of the country. In early April 2023, the Iraqi government inaugurated the 140 kb/d Karbala oil refinery, located in southern Iraq. In addition to the Karbala refinery, Iraq has 16 other refineries, for a total nominal capacity of 1 mb/d. The main refineries are Baiji (140 kb/d, extended from 70 kb/d in 2021), Basrah (140 kb/d), Daura (expanded to 210 kb/d in 2011), and Kalak (expanded to 100 kb/d in 2011).