Honeywell to begin work on new transportation fuels refinery in Iraq
UOP LLC, a Honeywell company, said Wednesday that its technology has been selected for a new transportation fuel refinery to be built in Iraq, with design to begin in the second quarter of 2011.
The state company for oil projects (SCOP), under the Ministry of Oil for Iraq, selected Honeywell's UOP to provide key technologies to process 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) of domestic crude oil into gasoline and diesel fuel at the new facility in Nassiriya, Iraq.
Honeywell's UOP received awards in 2010 from South Refineries Co.and North Refineries Co. for new refineries in Maissan and Kirkuk, Iraq, each rated at 150,000 bpd.
"We are pleased to be working with the SCOP again as Iraq focuses on doubling its oil refining capacity," said Rajeev Gautam, president and CEO of UOP.
"The high yields delivered by our technologies combined with our methodology for process unit integration and optimization will enable SCOP to produce the maximum yields of high-quality gasoline and diesel product while also maximizing the economic value of the project,” he added.
Refining capacity in Iraq is expected to reach 1.6mn bpd by 2017, more than two times the capacity of its existing refineries. This capacity is expected to double again by 2030, driven by increased transportation fuels demand within Iraq.
UOP will provide reforming, isomerization, fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) and selective hydrotreating technologies, it said.
As part of the overall technology package, UOP will provide basic engineering, technology licenses, catalysts and specialty equipment for the new refinery.
The specific UOP technologies to be provided to SCOP include the CCR Platforming and Penex processes, which are used to produce high-octane gasoline, as well as the UOP FCC and Selectfining technologies, which enable high-yield production of ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD) fuel and gasoline.
In 2010, Honeywell opened a full-service office in Baghdad and has plans to open other offices in southern and northern Iraq over the next few years.
Honeywell's Baghdad office focuses on supplying technology solutions, including process automation equipment, to Iraq's oil and gas industry, company officials said.
SCOP is part of the Iraqi Ministry of Oil and responsible for the processing of all petroleum products in Iraq.
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