Iraq signs contract to build first investment refinary

The Iraqi Oil Ministry has decided to build the first oil refinery for investment in Maysan province with a production capacity of 150 thousand barrels per day . A source at the South Refineries Company said in a statement today that Swiss Satarm company has signed a contract with the Oil Ministry to set up the refinery, but it neither set the date of commencement of the project nor its cost. The statement added that the Ministry of Oil also signed investment contracts for the construction of four new refineries in a number of Iraqi provinces, including a refinery in Nasiriyah with the capacity of 300 thousand barrels per day, Karbala, Maysan and Kirkuk with the capacity of 150 barrels per day each. According to the statement, the Iraqi Oil Ministry signed an agreement in several areas of cooperation with France, including the energy sector. Meanwhile, Iraqi Oil Minister Abdul-Karim Al Aybi said during a joint press conference with French Foreign Trade Minister Nicole Bricq after the opening of the French pavilion at Baghdad International Fair, that there is no change in Iraq’s oil production levels, noting that the production of Majnoon oil field exceeded 100 thousand barrels a day. He said the ministry signed a cooperation agreement with France in several areas , mainly energy , transport , agriculture, industry and education.