BAGHDAD, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi government announced on Wednesday the signing of an 800-million-U.S. dollar contract to develop and expand the Diwaniyah refinery.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani attended the signing ceremony between the state-owned Midland Oil Company and a local private company, according to a statement by al-Sudani's media office.
The projects included the addition of an atmospheric distillation unit with a capacity of 70,000 barrels per day (bpd), bringing the total production capacity of the refinery to 90,000 bpd, according to the statement.
The contract also included the installation of a liquefied gas processing unit, a naphtha hydro-treating unit, a gasoline upgrading unit, and other essential service units, the statement said.
Iraq's economy relies heavily on crude oil exports, which account for about 90 percent of the country's revenues. ■
