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Iraq has retendered contracts to develop two refineries with a total estimated value of $5bn.

The Al-Kut investment refinery project in Wasit Governorate involves developing a facility with an oil processing capacity of 100,000 barrels a day (b/d), while the Al-Samawah investment refinery project comprises developing a facility with the capacity to process 70,000 b/d, according to documents released by the Iraqi Oil Ministry.

Both projects will be implemented using either the build-own-operate (BOO) or build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) contract models, according to the documents.

The Al-Kut refinery will process crude oil from the fields of Maissan Governorate. The project will include a 250km pipeline to transport the crude from the source to the project site.

The Al-Samawah investment refinery will process crude oil from the Nasiriya depot.

For both projects, the relevant information package can be purchased for $30,000 from 8 July 2025 until the end of the working day on 6 August 2025.

Technical and commercial offers as well as other required documents are due to be submitted to the Oil Ministry’s Studies and Planning Directorate before the end of the working day on 5 October 2025.

Plans for both refineries were first announced by the Oil Ministry in 2016, with invitations to bid issued for the Al-Kut refinery in 2018.

After 2018, both projects stalled for several years before invitations to bid were issued for both refineries in April 2023.

The Oil Ministry has not officially confirmed why the 2003 invitation to bid did not result in contract awards.

READ THE JULY 2025 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

UAE and Turkiye expand business links; Renewed hope lies on the horizon for trouble-beset Levant region; Gulf real estate momentum continues even as concerns emerge

Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the July 2025 edition of MEED Business Review includes: