The North Oil Refinery in Baiji, northern Salahaddin province was captured by ISIS militants in mid-2014. The group was territorially defeated in Iraq in 2017.
With the refinery now back online, “we are on track to meet the country's total oil derivatives needs by mid-next year, potentially even surpassing this goal ahead of schedule,” Sudani said.
Repair work was done in cooperation with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), according to Sudani, who said he first visited the refinery in May “to examine its condition and observe the recovered equipment and machinery.”
Iraq is one of the world’s top oil producers, pumping out some four million barrels per day according to Sudani, and its economy is highly dependent on crude exports. However, it still imports gas and refined products, especially from its neighbor Iran.
“Halting oil derivative imports will save billions of dollars,” Sudani said, “that can be reallocated to other public services and economic sectors, marking significant reform.”
Sudani’s government has eyed self-sufficiency in several energy-related sectors, especially oil and gas.
In April, the Iraqi government and French TotalEnergies signed a deal that will see the energy giant build four projects for oil, gas, and renewables in southern Iraq in 25 years. The contract was initially signed in 2021, but was delayed due to disagreements over Iraq’s stake in the deal as Baghdad demanded a 40 percent share.
Sudani at the time said in an interview with Alawla TV that the agreement with the French giant would make the country self-sufficient and an exporter of natural resources within three to five years.
