Q&A: Hossam Hussein Wali, director general of the South Refineries Company

BASRA - Basra's Shuaiba refinery has finally overcome extensive delays to complete a new processing unit that expands the facility's capacity by 70,000 barrels per day (bpd), taking it up to a total of 280,000 bpd.

With the completion of new pipelines, the refinery is now receiving up to 300,000 bpd from southern oil fields, according to Hossam Hussein Wali, the director general of the state-run South Refineries Company (SRC).

Work is also proceeding apace on a fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit to improve gasoline quality, Wali said. The $125 million project, financed by a Japanese loan, is about three-quarters complete and nearly all the heavy equipment and materials shipped from China have arrived at Umm Qasr port, ready to be installed.

Wali spoke with Iraq Oil Report about the refinery's expansion; unresolved legal disputes with the Czech company Techno Export, which was removed from the project; and prospects for investment refineries in southern Iraq.

A full text of the interview is available below for Iraq Oil Report subscribers.