Iraq Basra Refinery BORC Upgrade FCC Procurement Reference

DISCLAIMER: This is an industry reference article based on publicly available reporting. Hebei Haihao makes no claim of supply, EPC participation, or commercial relationship with any company or contractor named in this article. All information is sourced from public news, corporate releases, and industry publications.

1. Project Background

The Basrah Refinery Upgrading Project, also known as the BORC FCC project, is the largest single downstream upgrade undertaken at Iraq's 210,000 bpd Basra refinery, operated by the South Refineries Company (SRC). The project's purpose is to deepen the refinery's product slate by adding modern conversion capacity, lifting Iraq's domestic refined-product self-sufficiency.

According to public reporting from Argus Media, work to upgrade facilities at Iraq's 210,000 bpd Basra refinery has been finished and commercial operations were expected to begin in December 2024, after the completion of construction work financially supported by Japan's state-owned Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

For international procurement engineers, the Iraq Basra Refinery BORC upgrade is a useful reference for refinery upgrades funded through bilateral concessional finance and executed by Japanese-led EPC consortiums.

2. Scale by the Numbers

3. Contractor Map

The Iraq Basra Refinery upgrade project's EPC was awarded to JGC Corporation of Japan, which received a letter of award in August 2020 for the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning of the FCCU, VDU and DDU. The project management consultancy (PMC) work for the South Refineries Company is being delivered by Technip (now TechnipFMC / Technip Energies) and UNICO International, originally awarded in April 2015. According to Iraq Business News in 2025, the Iraqi Council of Ministers approved an increase in the consultancy contract amount with UNICO and Technip.

Financing has been supported via Japanese yen loans through JICA, structured as a multi-tranche concessional loan supporting the Basra Refinery Upgrading Project.

4. Typical Materials & Standards Profile

A refinery upgrade of the Basra BORC class, with FCC, VDU and DDU units, typically requires a piping material spec that includes:

• Carbon steel and low-alloy fittings and flanges per ASTM A234 WPB and A105N for low-temperature low-pressure service.
• Chrome-moly grades (1.25Cr-0.5Mo, 2.25Cr-1Mo) for FCC riser, regenerator and main fractionator high-temperature service.
• Stainless and CRA materials for sour service streams (DDU sour gas, hydrotreater bottoms).
• ASME B16.5 / B16.47 forged flanges, ASME B16.9 butt-welding fittings, ASME B16.49 induction bends.
• NACE MR0103 compliance for refinery wet-sour services where applicable.
• ASME B31.3 piping code, plus rigorous PMI and heat-by-heat traceability.

For benchmarking, reference product families are listed under seamless butt-welding pipe fittings, forged flanges and non-standard forgings and hot induction pipe bends.

5. Procurement Lessons for International Buyers

First, JICA-financed projects in Iraq have specific procurement procedures with documented preferences and tied-aid mechanisms; suppliers must understand these to evaluate bid eligibility properly. Second, JGC's global vendor list is the practical filter for materials supply on the EPC scope, so suppliers who already hold JGC qualification on prior LNG or refinery projects (e.g. Tangguh Train 3, ICHTHYS LNG) have a structural head start. Third, Iraq's commissioning environment requires careful spares and start-up package planning; suppliers offering post-commissioning replacement parts and turnaround support tend to remain in the customer's vendor base for the long term.

Procurement teams scoping similar refinery upgrade packages can engage via the inquiry portal.

6. Reference Takeaway

The Iraq Basra Refinery BORC upgrade is the most current public reference for a JICA-financed, JGC-led refinery upgrade in the Middle East. With FCC, VDU and DDU capacity now installed and commercial operations targeted from late 2024, the Iraq Basra Refinery BORC upgrade case is a key benchmark for international procurement engineers tracking the next wave of Iraq downstream sourcing.

Sources

• https://www.nsenergybusiness.com/projects/basrah-oil-refinery-upgrade/
• https://www.iraq-businessnews.com/2025/02/26/increased-consultancy-contract-for-basra-refinery-project/
• https://www.technipfmc.com/en/investors/archives/technip/press-releases/technip-wins-pmc-contract-for-the-basra-refinery-upgrading-project/
• https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news-and-insights/latest-market-news/2747938-iraq-s-basra-refinery-completes-upgrades
• https://www.iraq.emb-japan.go.jp/itpr_en/11_000001_00324.html

Hebei Haihao does not claim involvement in this project.