The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG’s) Ministry of Natural Resources has invited contractors to express interest in a project to build up to three new oil refineries in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq, according to a statement issued on 15 September.

Under current plans, the refinery contracts will be build-own-operate (BOO) and each facility will have a capacity of between 50,000 and 100,000 barrels a day (b/d).

“The [KRG] would like to increase the domestic capacity of local refineries in the Kurdistan region to ensure self-sufficiency in producing petroleum products,” the Ministry of Natural Resources said in its statement.

“Tenders are requested from reputable companies to build, own and operate such refineries in the Kurdistan region for the next twenty years-plus.”

The deadline for the submission of expressions of interest (EoIs) is 1 December.

Contractors looking to bid on the deals are required to have executed at least three similar projects in the past seven years.