Iraq Refinery With Power Problems

BASRA, IRAQ -- - The Basra refinery, the largest in southern Iraq, is still being affected by power problems that are holding back a return to pre-war production levels for key fuels, a senior Iraqi oil executive said recently.

"Current production of the Basra refinery is 140,000 barrels per day (bpd)," Thaer Ibrahim, director-general of the South Refining Company that owns the plant, told Reuters.

"Before the war production was 200,000 bpd, maximum capacity is 220,000 bpd," he said.

Engineers restarted the second train at the refinery last week, doubling output to 140,000 bpd. The first train was restarted in April in the aftermath of the war on the Saddam Hussein regime waged and won by U.S. and British forces.

The Basra refinery is also beset by distribution problems -- a pipeline to Baghdad has not reopened on schedule, the railway to Baghdad cannot carry large amounts of oil, and there is a shortage of trucks.

The plant's chief engineer told Reuters last week that unless the Basra-Baghdad pipeline opens soon, the refinery will go back to producing at half its capacity.

Despite the distribution and power problems, Ibrahim said the two trains now running at Basra were each making 7,500 bpd of gasoline, 6,300 bpd of kerosene, 12,500 bpd of gas oil and 31,500 bpd of fuel oil.