• What makes Iraq’s refinery complex a ‘catch-up’?
  • Iraq¡¯s refining complex has a number of characteristics: first, all Iraq¡¯s refineries are simple hydro-skimming refineries with high fuel oil surpluses; second, they lack upgrading facilities. The failure of Iraq¡¯s downstream to play ¡®catch-up¡¯ with its upstream has highlighted a number of stresses in the country¡¯s oil sector:
  • Why is fuel oil re-injection a problem in Iraq?
  • The re-injection of fuel oil into Iraqi oilfields has been a feature of the industry since the 1980s, destabilizing the API of Kirkuk, Rumaila, and other southern fields. Smuggling routes for fuel oil have existed since the early 1990s, particularly from Baiji to Iran and Turkey. The use of blending has been ongoing since at least 2009.
  • Why is Iraq reliant on refined product imports?
  • Similarly, Iraq ¨C unlike its upstream regional peers ¨C is the only major producer heavily reliant on refined product imports, a reflection of an underdeveloped refining system and of a misalignment between the product yield of Iraq¡¯s refining output and its domestic demand. for Iraq¡¯s short¨Cmedium production outlook.