BREAKBULKONE BMT HANDLES CARGO FOR BASRA REFINERY PROJECT

Basra Multipurpose Terminal has been tasked with handling cargo for the Basra Refinery Upgrade Project, which will include some of the largest industrial components ever to be discharged in Iraq.

The overhaul at the Basra facility in southern Iraq is designed to boost processing capacity from 210,000 to 280,000 barrels per day.

Refinery owner South Refineries Company, part of Iraq’s Oil Ministry, awarded Japanese Gasoline Company an EPCC contract in 2020 to install a number of primary processing plants, including a fluid catalytic cracking unit, a vacuum distillation unit and a diesel desulfurization unit.

The project, aimed at reducing dependence on imported fuels, is slated for completion in 2025, according to the Japanese contractor.

Erkan Erkocu, general cargo operations manager at BMT, told Breakbulk the main inland transport contract began in September and would run through to March 2024.

BMT handles out-of-gauge cargo for the Basra project.

CREDIT: BMT

The largest units slated for delivery would weigh up to 870 tonnes and measure 83 meters long.

According to Erkocu, the planning phase of the project involved a comprehensive assessment of the port’s existing structures including quays, yards and storage space, and the turning radius of transport assets. BBONE

Meet BMT at Breakbulk Middle East, 13-14 February in Dubai.