Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov. 1 /Trend A.Taghiyeva/
An Iraqi oil processing project at Egyptian refineries is very important to Baghdad because these refineries will be able to meet Iraq's demand for oil products, a source in the Iraqi government told Trend on Thursday.
A source said that earlier that Iraq processed oil in Egyptian refineries although the current project involves doubling the amount of processed oil.
On the other hand, Egypt has a strategic position to reach the world market, so the obtained oil products could be sold on the foreign markets, the source said.
Egyptian refineries' processing capacity is about five to six million tons per year. The country also intends to implement a project to increase processing capacity. This is an important project for Iraq, as the demand for oil products in the country increases every year, the source said.
Iraq increased its oil exports to 2.600 million barrels per day in September 2012.
According to BP, Iraq's proven oil reserves as of late 2011 amounted to 143.1 billion barrels. The country ranks third in OPEC after Saudi Arabia and Iran. Oil production in Iraq as of late 2011 was 2.798 million barrels per day.
The major oil fields of Iraq are Rumaila, Zubair, Nahr Umr, Majnoon and West Qurna in the south of the country. Some 80 per cent of the oil produced in Iraq is exported.