Thursday, December 14, 2006
Lebanese company to build $3 bn oil refinery in Kurdistan
Oil, Kurdistan, Commerce
Lebanon's Make Oil Company is expected to start building a $3 billion oil refinery in Iraqi Kurdistan within one month, company management told The Daily Star on Tuesday. The firm expects to sign a contract with the Iraqi Natural Resources Ministry in about three weeks and can start construction immediately in Dhouk, near Irbil, Make Oil general manager Ahmad Kheireddine said.
Construction should last between two and three years, and once completed the refinery will be able to handle 250,000 barrels per day, said Make Oil lead engineer Mahmoud Darwish. The company's investors for the Kurdistan refinery hail from the Gulf, Europe and the United States. Make Oil has also proposed to build a smaller refinery in Dhouk that can launch operations in nine months, while work on the bigger facility continues, Kheireddine said.
Make Oil is also among the bidders to build a $2.2 billion refinery in Basra. That project would take about two and a half years to finish,and would have a capacity of 150,000 barrels per day, Darwish said. Make Oil's biggest problem in completing the Basra deal is getting to Basra - because of the sectarian conflict in Iraq, company executives are unwilling to travel there to finish negotiating the deal. But Kheireddine expressed hope that the contract would be signed in two or three months if the situation allowed it.
In Kurdistan as in Basra, Make Oil has faced fierce competition from Gulf oil firms, many of which enjoy vast financial resources and experience. The Lebanese say their good relationships with the ministry and the Kurds have helped their cause, and they are eager to build factories and public-works projects in Kurdistan.
Construction should last between two and three years, and once completed the refinery will be able to handle 250,000 barrels per day, said Make Oil lead engineer Mahmoud Darwish. The company's investors for the Kurdistan refinery hail from the Gulf, Europe and the United States. Make Oil has also proposed to build a smaller refinery in Dhouk that can launch operations in nine months, while work on the bigger facility continues, Kheireddine said.
Make Oil is also among the bidders to build a $2.2 billion refinery in Basra. That project would take about two and a half years to finish,and would have a capacity of 150,000 barrels per day, Darwish said. Make Oil's biggest problem in completing the Basra deal is getting to Basra - because of the sectarian conflict in Iraq, company executives are unwilling to travel there to finish negotiating the deal. But Kheireddine expressed hope that the contract would be signed in two or three months if the situation allowed it.
In Kurdistan as in Basra, Make Oil has faced fierce competition from Gulf oil firms, many of which enjoy vast financial resources and experience. The Lebanese say their good relationships with the ministry and the Kurds have helped their cause, and they are eager to build factories and public-works projects in Kurdistan.
