Nineveh: Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has underscored his government’s commitment to ensuring the availability of energy sources and fuel derivatives across all Iraqi governorates. This announcement was made during his visit to Nineveh Governorate, where he initiated the implementation work on the Nineveh Refinery Project, which boasts a refining capacity of 70,000 barrels per day.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, Al-Sudani highlighted the strategic significance of the Nineveh Refinery Project, which is part of a broader government vision to establish refineries in several governorates through national efforts. This initiative aims to provide a steady supply of energy sources and fuel derivatives to every region. He stressed that power plants and refineries are crucial for driving the economic development necessary for the industry, emphasizing that increasing refinery production and conserving funds allocated for importing petroleum derivatives are essential components of genuine reform.

Al-Sudani further elaborated that, over the last two and a half years, Iraq’s refining capacity has surpassed expectations, aligning with the government’s strategy to convert 40% of oil production into downstream industries. The current achievement of a 30-35% conversion rate exceeds the target initially set for the next decade. He pointed out that the government took office at a time when Iraq was importing petroleum derivatives valued at 6 trillion dinars, despite being a nation producing 4 million barrels of oil daily.

The Nineveh Refinery facilities, spanning an area of 800 dunams in the Hammam al-Alil district, south of Mosul, are expected to meet the fuel demands of northern governorates. The refinery’s units will produce a variety of petroleum derivatives, including fuel oil with a capacity of 32,000 barrels per day, naphtha with 15,000 barrels per day, kerosene with 8,400 barrels per day, and gas oil with 12,600 barrels per day. The project is anticipated to create approximately 1,000 direct jobs and a significant number of indirect employment opportunities.