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Iraq upgrading more refineries

Wednesday, May 14, 2008 Free Headline Alerts

BAGHDAD — Iraq has signed a contract to expand an oil refinery.

The Iraqi Oil Ministry has concluded a contract with a U.S. company, Colorado Industrial Construction Services Co., to modernize the refinery in the southern city of Najaf. Under the $85 million contract, Colorado Industrial would help increase refinery capacity from 20,000 to 30,000 barrels of oil per day. The Najaf refinery was constructed in October 2006. Under the contract, the U.S. firm would build a third production unit by late 2009.

Iraq has been expanding refinery capacity in an effort to ease the gasoline shortage. The Oil Ministry plans to build refineries in Karbala and Nasseriya as part of a plan to increase refinery capacity by nearly 500,000 barrels of oil per day.

Meanwhile, Kuwait has selected five Asian bidders to build a $15 billion refinery.

On May 11, four South Korean and a Japanese firm were awarded $8.3 billion in contracts by the state-owned Kuwait National Petroleum Co. Japan's JCG Corp. and South Korea's GS Engineering and Construction won $4 billion in contracts. The two companies had formed a consortium in their bid to construct the refinery's main manufacting units.

KOC also awarded South Korea's SK Engineering and Construction Co. a $2 billion award to help construct the refinery, designed to process 615,000 barrels of oil per day. South Korea's Daelem Industries was awarded a $1.2 billion award to supply tanks. Construction of the facility was expected to begin by 2009 and the refinery would begin operations in 2012.

Officials said South Korea's Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co. was awarded a $1.1 billion contract to construct offshore refinery facilities. Earlier, the U.S.-based Fluor Engineering won a $1.12 billion award to serve as a consultant to the project.

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