Iraq adds new refining capacity, advances Euro 5 fuels production

Iraq’s Ministry of Oil (MOP) has brought a series of new refinery projects to full operating rates, adding 140,000 b/d of fresh crude distillation capacity and expanding conversion and upgrading units aimed at increasing domestic supply of Euro 5–grade fuels.

On Feb. 8, state-run subsidiary North Refineries Co. formally commissioned its 70,000-b/d Salah al-Din/3 refinery and 70,000-b/d North/2 refinery projects in northern Iraq’s Kirkuk region as part of a broader government program to increase output of gasoline, kerosine, and gas oil to help reduce the country’s reliance on imported refined products, MOP said.

The ministry also confirmed full operation of a grassroots 35,000-b/d fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit at subsidiary South Refineries Co.’s 260,000-b/d Basrah refinery, as well as an 11,000-b/d gasoline hydrogenation and upgrading unit at North Refineries Co.’s 56,000-b/d Kirkuk refinery.

The Basrah refinery’s new FCC unit is producing high-octane gasoline from heavier streams to support the government’s target of moving from net importer to exporter of selected petroleum products, while the gasoline hydrotreating and improvement unit in Kirkuk aims to raise gasoline quality to Euro 5-quality standards, according to MOP.

A similar gasoline hydrogenation and upgrading project is also nearing completion at North Refineries Co.’s Al-Samoud refinery of its Baiji complex in Iraq’s province of Salah al-Din, the government agency said.

Basrah’s new FCC

Full operation of the FCC unit at Basrah follows completion of the multiyear Basrah Refinery Upgrading Project (BRUP), led by JGC Holdings Corp. under an engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning contract awarded in 2020.

As part of that contract, JGC delivered the new FCC unit, a 55,000-b/d vacuum distillation unit, and a 40,000-b/d diesel desulfurization unit, among other installations as part of an upgrade financed through Japanese official development assistance loans from the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

In late 2025, Iraqi and Japanese officials marked completion of the BRUP, positioning Basrah as the country’s first refinery capable of producing gasoline and diesel meeting international environmental standards, including Euro 5-quality specifications.