Title: Iraq: Mining, Minerals and Fuel Resources
Headings: Iraq: Mining, Minerals and Fuel Resources
Iraq: Mining, Minerals and Fuel Resources
Topics Covered
Welcome to Iraq
Overview of Resources
Industrial Minerals
Metals
Fossil Fuels
Investment
Sources

Content: In 2010, operation at Iraq’s largest oilfield called the Rumaila, started as a joint venture between BP p.l.c. of the United Kingdom and China National Petroleum Corp. in 2010, the country planned to build four new refineries at Nassiriyah, Kerbala, Missan and Kirkuk apart from increasing its refining capacity to 1.5 Mbbl/d by 2017. Investment
Iraq’s 2012 budget forecasts oil exports of 2.6 bbl/day that will result in an increase from the country’s average of 2.2 bbl/day in 2011. The country aims at upgrading its export, oil processing and pipeline infrastructure to attract foreign investments. Such improvements are of urgent significance as Iraq still experiences an unstable political and security system, corruption, insufficient essential services, antiquated commercial laws and outdated infrastructure. Solving these issues will indeed give way for more investments and speed up the growth of the country’s non-oil and private sectors. Iraq is thus planning to introduce a new set of laws that will establish a modern legal framework for the oil sector and also develop a mechanism for equal distribution of oil revenues within the nation. The country hopes to expand its mineral industry in the near future and further enhance the supply of its commodities for the country’s reconstruction projects and infrastructure. The country’s production of natural gas and crude oil is also likely to increase through the enrollment of foreign oil companies in the development of the country’s hydrocarbon resources. The production of crude oil, cement, phosphate, sulfur and phosphate rock are also expected to see an increase in the future in order to satisfy the domestic demand for the country’s mineral commodities.