Terror threat closes Iraq's largest oil refinery

Iraq’s largest oil refinery has been shut down because of the deteriorating security situation in the region, Minister of Oil Ibrahim Bahar el-Ulom said today.

A spokesman earlier had said the refinery in Beiji, 155 miles north of Baghdad, had been shut down since Saturday.

“The capacity of this refinery is 7 to 8 million litres a day (of petrol) and it is considered one of the vital refineries in Iraq,” he said.

“Baghdad depends on this refinery and takes about two to three million litres a day.”

The closure will affect Iraq and Baghdad in particular, which has been feeling the pinch from a shortage of refined fuel, much of which is already imported because of the country’s diminished refining capacity.

A number of demonstrations have already been held around Iraq because of an increase in fuel prices.