A local company in Iraq’s Kurdistan region has installed the first private sector oil refinery to the west of Arbil city with an initial capacity of 20,000 barrels per day (bpd), Aswat Al-Iraq news agency has reported.

 Construction work on the refinery began in 2005 under a contract between the ministries of oil, and industry and minerals. Work was planned to be carried out by the Iraqi government, but was later contracted out by the Kurdistan Regional Government to the private sector due to financing difficulties.