LONDON – Iraq wants to follow the current expansion of its oil production capacity with an expansion of its domestic refining industry, but won't be able to do so without the cooperation of international companies, said the country's Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Hussein al-Shahristani Wednesday.
Iraq aims to produce between 5 million and 6 million barrels of oil a day by 2015, around double its current level, Shahristani said at the Iraq Refinery conference in London. By 2020, Iraq would like to more than double its domestic refining capacity to 1.5 million barrels a day, he said.
"There is an urgent need to upgrade and build new refineries to improve self-sufficiency and reduce reliance on expensive imports," he said. Iraq cannot achieve this goal without, "the full cooperation of international oil companies," he said.
Iraq is willing to improve current incentives designed to attract refining investment by offering guaranteed margins to companies who build plants in the country, he said.
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