The refinery in Fao will have a 300 000 bpd capacity and include a petrochemical plant, according to the Iraqi oil ministry.
Two other refineries, each with a 150 000 bpd capacity, are planned in Nasiriya, in the south of the country and in the western Anbar province. A third, with a 100 000 bpd capacity, is planned in Qayara, near Mosul, the northern Iraqi city that was recaptured from Islamic State militants last year.
Iraq currently relies on the Doura refinery, in Baghdad, and Shuaiba plant, in the south.