France’s Technip has been awarded the project management consultancy (PMC) contract on the upgrade of the Basra refinery in Iraq.

Technip will partner with Japanese engineering consultant Unico to carry out the contract, which was awarded by Iraq’s state-owned South Refineries Company (SRC).

The partnership will oversee the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC), commissioning, start-up and warranty-management phase of the project.

SRC aims to increase gasoline production at the refinery through the installation of a new fluid catalytic cracking unit and associated units, such as a visbreaker, a hydrotreating unit and a hydrogen plant.

Three EPC contractors are thought to be prequalified to bid for the estimated $1.5bn main contract on the Basra refinery upgrade project. The three companies, all based in Japan, are Chiyoda, JGC and Toyo Engineering.

EPC contractors have been waiting since 2012 for the tender to be floated. The deal will be financed in part by a $430m loan from Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica).

The project is part of Baghdad’s long-term plan to meet future domestic demand for oil products, including gasoline.

In June 2013, Technip was also awarded the PMC contract for the New Refinery Project in Karbala. The $6.04bn EPC contract for the 140,000 barrel-a-day (b/d) refinery was awarded to a consortium of South Korean companies in April 2014.