Iraq stops gasoline imports after achieving self-sufficiency

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq will stop importing gasoline as it is now self-sufficient after increasing domestic production, the Oil Ministry said on Saturday.

 

"Starting from today, we will stop importing gasoline," Abdulsahib Bazoon, Oil Ministry spokesperson, told Rudaw. "We will produce high octane and normal gasoline."

 

He added that the next goal is to become a fuel exporter.

 

Iraq boosted its gasoline production with infrastructure like the Basra refinery and the Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) project that was inaugurated on Saturday.

 

"Today, the biggest and the most important project across Iraq was completed. This project produces crude oil, then refines it to produce high-octane gasoline, heating oil, and LPG, as well as several other products," Bazoon said.

 

Speaking in Basra, Oil Minister Hayan Abdul Ghani commended the FCC project as one of the most critical strategic initiatives in the refining sector, as it is able to produce 4,200 cubic meters of high-octane gasoline and over 2,000 cubic meters of diesel.

 

The nearly $3.75 billion project was financed by a low-interest loan from Japan, according to the minister.

 

Iraq is the second largest oil producer in OPEC after Saudi Arabia. It produces an average 4.4 million barrels of oil per day. Of this number, it exports 3.3 million barrels, and uses the remaining to meet domestic demands.