The Media Office of the Prime Minister Mohammed S. Al-Sudani announced on Sunday, that Iraq has successfully increased its refining capacity to 1.3 million barrels per day, placing it among the leading Arab countries in this field.
The Media Office of the Prime Minister stated in a statement, received by The Iraqi News Agency-INA that “As part of the government’s approach to strengthening national sovereignty in the energy sector and ensuring the provision of petroleum products, on the path toward consolidating economic stability and confident national development, Iraq has successfully increased its refining capacity to 1.3 million barrels per day, placing it among the leading Arab countries in this field. Iraq is steadily advancing toward achieving a refining capacity of 1.65 million barrels per day, in line with the goal announced by Prime Minister Mohammed S. Al-Sudani on March 30, 2025”.
“This strategic development will enable Iraq to fully meet domestic consumption of petroleum products, which in 2024 stood at 1.1 million barrels per day, thereby bringing the country very close to self-sufficiency in various petroleum products,” the statement added.
The statement further mentioned ,“This achievement will yield multiple benefits, most notably: reducing the burden of petroleum product imports to the lowest levels in decades, saving billions of dollars in foreign currency annually, improving the trade balance, creating opportunities for exporting surplus petroleum products in the near future, generating new jobs in the energy sector and related industries, improving fuel quality to meet international standards, and reducing carbon emissions and pollution levels“.
The statement affirmed,“This transformation reflects the government’s success in implementing its strategy to diversify sources of income, strengthen the foundations of sustainable economic development, and serve the interests of the people by ensuring stable petroleum product prices in the local market. The Ministry of Oil has also prepared a plan to begin exporting both gas oil and jet fuel, having already achieved self-sufficiency in their production“.
