Iraq seeks to slash costly petrol import bill

Iraq seeks to slash costly petrol import bill

Iraq hopes local oil-refining projects under development will help reduce its petrol import bill, which has climbed to $4.5 billion a year. Although it controls the world’s fifth-largest recoverable crude deposits and is Opec’s second-largest oil producer, Iraq has relied heavily in recent years on imports for its refined product needs, including petrol and diesel. This is because most of its oil and refining facilities were devastated during co…