Iraq Bitumen
As the title shows, in the following, we tend to talk about the Wataniya bitumen refinery, iraq bitumen refinery
the oil reserves in Iraq, and the market.
So, stay with us to the end of this article, hope you find it useful. Iraq, officially
the Republic of Iraq, is a country in the Middle East and Southwest Asia.
The capital of Iraq is Baghdad. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to the south, Jordan and
Syria to the west, Iran to the east, and Turkey to the north border it. As you
know, Iraq has a small blue border with the Persian Gulf in its southern region.
Generally speaking, Iraq covers an area of about 438,000 square
kilometers (about a quarter of Iran). The population of Iraq is about 32
million (2013 statistics). To be more specific, Arabs make up 75% -80%,
Kurds 15%–20%, Turkmen and Assyrians, etc. About 5% of the Iraqi population.
Also ,In addition to above, about 60% -65% of Iraqis are Shiites, 32% -37% are Sunnis
and 3% are Christians and followers of other religions.
As the reports show, Iraq’s GDP grew by 8.4 percent year-on-year to
$212.5 billion. This year, the agricultural sector accounted for 3.4 percent,
the industrial sector for 64.9 percent and the service area for 31.7 percent of
the country’s GDP. Besides, Iraq’s total exports in 2013 were at $93.91 billion
and its imports at around $56.89 billion. This year, crude oil accounted
for 84% of Iraq’s total exports.
Wataniya bitumen refinery and Iraq’s economy
So , In other words, Iraq’s budget revenues for the year, totaled $103.4 billion and
its budget expenditures were $88.34 billion, and the country’s foreign debt
as of December 2012 was at about $50.26 billion. In 1996, Iraq was the
eighth largest producer of petroleum liquids in the world. It has the largest proven crude oil reserves in the world after Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Canada
and Iran, respectively. Only a portion of Iraq’s known fields are being
developed, and Iraq may be one of the few places where its
known hydrocarbon resources have not been fully exploited.
Despite large proven crude oil reserves, Iraq’s oil production is slowing due
to limited infrastructure and political differences. Iraq’s energy sector
heavily depends on oil, with over 90 percent of the country’s energy
needs coming from oil (2010 estimates) and the rest from other sources
such as natural gas and hydropower. Moreover, Iraq is already developing its
But , oil and gas reserves after years of sanctions and war, which requires the development of the infrastructure to realize the potential of the country’s oil
and gas industry. According to estimates by the Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister
for Energy, Iraq’s energy infrastructure will require an annual investment
of $30 billion to achieve its production targets.
Oil market and the Wataniya bitumen refinery
According to a report published by the International Oil and Gas Journal
on January 4, Iraq has increased its estimate of proven oil reserves from 6
billion barrels per year to 4 billion barrels per year. Most of Iraq’s known resources are mostly in the Shiite areas of the south and the Sunni
minority controls the Kurdish ethnic region in the north and some
resources in central Iraq.
But , Needful to say that most of Iraq’s oil and
gas reserves are in a belt along the east coast of the country.
About 60 percent of Iraq’s proven oil reserves are in five vast fields
(with reserves of up to 5 billion barrels of crude oil) in the country’s south,
and another 17 percent in northern Iraq, near Kirkuk, Mosul and Khanaqin.
Also , According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), proven oil reserves
in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRG) amount to 4 billion barrels. However, exploration activities in the region are underway significantly, and the
KRG claims that the region’s unproven oil reserves could be
as high as 45 billion barrels.
Iraq Production and the Wataniya bitumen refinery
According to the US Center for Energy Studies, Iraqi crude oil production
averaged 2 million barrels per day in 1996. About three-quarters of
Iraq’s oil production comes from the country’s southern fields, and the rest
comes primarily from the northern fields near Kirkuk. Besides, most of
Iraq’s oil production is related to the three vast fields of Kirkuk,
North Ramila in southern Iraq and South Ramila.
Roughly speaking, oil production in northern Iraq by the Kurdistan
Regional Government (KRG) fluctuates due to some differences with the
central government, but independent assessments by the Middle East
Economic Survey, FACTS Global Energy, and show that crude oil
production capacity in The KRG could reach about 400,000 barrels
per day by the end of 2013.
Iraqi bitumen supplier
According to Reuters on October 23, 2013, Samir Ghazban, chairman of
the Advisory Committee, told the Iraqi Council of Ministers: “Iraqi oil
production is expected in 2014 following the increase in production
from MaKNooN field by a consortium led by the Anglo-Dutch company Shell.” Qarfa field by Petronas Malaysia and Halfaya field by PetroChina Company,
with a minimum increase of 3,000 barrels per day, will reach an average
of 3 million and 3 thousand barrels per day.
Respectively, the former Iraqi oil minister and candidate for the post of
Secretary-General of OPEC said that the average Iraqi oil production this
year may be more than three million barrels per day, which is an
increase compared to year 1, and by the end of this year, probably to level 3.
the ultimate point, security and infrastructure problems in Iraq have caused
the country to fall short of its initial target of 2.7 million barrels per day of
oil production in 2013 and the forecast of 4,000 barrels per day growth this year.