Iraq’s State Company for Oil Projects (SCOP) has selected the US’ UOP, a division of industrial giant Honeywell, to provide technology for a planned new refinery at Nassiriya in the south of Iraq.

UOP will provide technology for reforming, isomerisation, fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) and hydrotreating to process 300,000 barrels a day (b/d) of domestic crude oil into gasoline and diesel fuel at the new facility, according to a 25 May company release.

As part of the deal, UOP will provide basic engineering, technology licences, catalysts and specialty equipment for the new refinery. Design work will begin in the second quarter of 2011.

US engineering firm FosterWheeler is conducting the feasibility study and design, which is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2012 (MEED 3:6:10).

UOP was also awarded technology contracts in 2010 by state-owned South Refineries Company (SRC) and North Refineries Company (SRC) for new refineries in Missan in the southeast and Kirkuk in the north of Iraq, with each processing 150,000 b/d.

SCOP is part of the Iraqi Ministry of Oil and responsible for the processing of all petroleum products in Iraq.

Iraq plans to raise its refining capacity to 1.6 million b/d by 2017, more than double its existing capacity. Honeywell expects this figure to be doubled again by 2030, driven by increased transportation fuel demand within Iraq.