Iraq boosts output capacity at Kirkuk oil refinery, says oil ministry

Iraq’s Oil Ministry has added a new processing unit to the Kirkuk oil refinery, increasing the plant’s capacity to 56,000 barrels per day, the ministry said in a statement on Monday, according to Reuters.

The new production unit can process 13,000 barrels per day of crude, the statement said, Jabar al-Luaibi, citing Oil Minister.

The new upgraded production capacity will meet most of the domestic need of the northern oil city of Kirkuk and nearby provinces and “save hard currency as a result of cutting fuel imports”, it said.

Iraq is working to divert most future output from Kirkuk oilfield to local refineries due to an ongoing conflict with Kurdish regional authorities over the use of an export pipeline to Turkey.

Production from Kirkuk stopped in mid-October after Iraqi forces dislodged Kurdish fighters and took over the northern region’s oilfields.