Posted on 05/29/2004 11:06:06 AM PDT by Pikamax
Asphalt refinery rehabilitated
Mosul, Iraq Press, May 29, 2004 – Iraq’s only asphalt refinery in Qayara has been rehabilitated after being idle for more than nine years.
The refinery used to supply the bulk of Iraq’s needs of asphalt, a commodity the country urgently needs to maintain and expand its networks of roads and highways.
Built in 1959, the refinery was bombed in 1986 during the war with Iran and had remained idle since.
US army engineers spent half a million dollars to breathe life into the refinery and currently churns out 300 tons of asphalt a day.
The refinery’s director, Mohammed Kadh, said until very recently Iraq imported asphalt from neighboring countries.
“We spent a lot of money and the asphalt we got was of low quality,” he said.
Qayara, south of Mosul, is a major oil center in the area reputed for its heavy crude.
The refinery employs 450 workers from the small town of Qayara, for which the refinery is named.
“Without help from the coalition (US troops) this refinery would have remained shut,” Kadh said.
“We still rely on the coalition engineers who provide all forms of support to our technicians and their efforts to sustain and boost production,” he added.
Ipnews
Ipeco
Not 18?
Whose phalt was it that a half million was spent on an asphalt refinery? Crude oil+sand and gravel=asphalt. Stir thoroughly with angle blade until water is evaporated and pack it down into roadway. It took 18 years to learn this tecnology?
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