Iraq’s Ministry of Finance announced on Sunday that it has signed a loan agreement worth 60.04 billion Japanese yen ($380 million) with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to fund the ongoing Basrah Refinery Upgrading Project in the southern Basra Governorate.

The Basra [or Basrah] Refinery project, which includes the installation of a new fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) complex, aims to align the refinery's oil products output with international environmental standards. The project, which has achieved completion rate of 93 percent, is expected to be completed by August 2025.

The latest loan marks the sixth tranche of Official Development Assistance (ODA) provided by JICA for the Basrah Refinery. Previous tranches include:

  • October 2012: JP¥ 42,435 million
  • June 2019: JP¥ 110,000 million
  • October 2021: JP¥ 32,700 million
  • December 2022: JP¥ 120,000 million 
  • August 2023: JP¥ 203,060 million 

The Basra refinery upgrading project is part of Iraq’s broader strategy to modernise its oil and gas infrastructure and reduce reliance on imported refined products.

In August 2020, JGC Corporation, the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) business of Japan's JGC Group, had announced that it has been awarded JP¥ 400 billion contract for Basrah Refinery Upgrading Project by South Refineries Company, under the Iraq's Ministry of Oil. Key project components include FCC unit (34,500 barrels/day), vacuum distillation unit (55,000 barrels/day) and 
diesel desulphurisation unit (40,000 barrels/day), thereby increasing production to 19,000 barrels/day of gasoline and 36,000 barrels/day of diesel fuel.

(Reporting by Majda Muhsen; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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