Iraq's oil ministry has awarded two contracts to a US engineering and construction firm for preliminary work on new oil refining projects.
Shaw Group, based in Louisiana, has signed two contracts to provide feasibility studies and front-end engineering and design for proposed refineries near the Iraqi cities of Missan and Kirkuk.
The company did not disclose the value of the contracts, but said they represented Shaw's first significant projects in Iraq.
The proposed refineries are near major producing oilfields from which Baghdad is attempting to boost output. If built, each would have a processing capacity of 150,000 barrels per day (bpd).
Despite holding the world's third-largest crude oil reserves, Iraq cannot meet its domestic demand for petroleum products, such as petrol and diesel, from its existing refineries. Most date from the 1970s, are not in good repair and produce mainly heavy fuel oil instead of the lighter products that are in especially short supply.
To narrow the gap, Iraq has turned to its neighbour and former adversary, Iran. The two countries are in talks over a plan for Iran to import up to 200,000 bpd of Iraqi crude, which it would process at a refinery in its south-western Khuzestan province. In return, Iran would supply Iraq with 3 million tonnes per day of refined products.
tcarlisle@thenational.ae
Company Profile
Name: Direct Debit System
Started: Sept 2017
Based: UAE with a subsidiary in the UK
Industry: FinTech
Funding: Undisclosed
Investors: Elaine Jones
Number of employees: 8
ROUTE TO TITLE
Round 1: Beat Leolia Jeanjean 6-1, 6-2
Round 2: Beat Naomi Osaka 7-6, 1-6, 7-5
Round 3: Beat Marie Bouzkova 6-4, 6-2
Round 4: Beat Anastasia Potapova 6-0, 6-0
Quarter-final: Beat Marketa Vondrousova 6-0, 6-2
Semi-final: Beat Coco Gauff 6-2, 6-4
Final: Beat Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-2
UPI+facts
More+than+2.2+million+Indian+tourists+arrived+in+UAE+in+2023
More+than+3.5+million+Indians+reside+in+UAE
Indian+tourists+can+make+purchases+in+UAE+using+rupee+accounts+in+India+through+QR-code-based+UPI+real-time+payment+systems
Indian+residents+in+UAE+can+use+their+non-resident+NRO+and+NRE+accounts+held+in+Indian+banks+linked+to+a+UAE+mobile+number+for+UPI+transactions
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Company+Profile
Name:+Thndr
Started:+2019
Co-founders:+Ahmad+Hammouda+and+Seif+Amr
Sector:+FinTech
Headquarters:+Egypt
UAE+base:+Hub71,+Abu+Dhabi
Current+number+of+staff:+More+than+150
Funds+raised:+$22+million+