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

BASRA - Iraq's refining sector is taking on increasing strategic importance as the government attempts to capture more value from each barrel of oil, reduce its fuel import bills, and limit exports in response to OPEC-plus quota agreements.

Almost all of the refineries in southern Iraq are operating at full capacity, according to Eng. Hossam Hussein Wali, the director general of the state-run South Refineries Company (SRC), who spoke with Iraq Oil Report at his office at the Shuaiba refinery in Basra.

Wali expects Iraq's refineries to continue processing as much as possible. Even with increasing pressure to limit production in response to OPEC-plus quotas, the Iraqi government is focusing those cuts on exports rather than domestic fuel production.

The boom in domestic production not only helps meet rising demand but also provides significant revenue for the government, especially now that the Cabinet has decided to unfreeze a provision that sends the majority of refining profits to the Ministry of Finance instead of keeping them with the state-run companies.

The full interview with Wali is available below for Iraq Oil Report subscribers.