Natural factors affecting the settlement of oil refining industry in Basra Governorate

Abstract

There are many natural factors affecting oil refining industry in Basra Governorate, such as geographical location, geological formation, surface features, climate, water, land, area, etc. This research aims to study those natural factors that contributed to settling the refining industry in the governorate. The research was based on the systematic, regional and spatial approach. Also This study included, in addition to the introduction, conclusions and proposals , two sections. The first dealt with the concept and importance of oil refining industry, while the second  dealt with the natural components affecting the settlement of oil refining industry in Basra Governorate. The research reached a number of conclusions, including:

1- The geographical location, through the province’s overlooking over the Arabian Gulf with a coastline extending about (60) km, contributed to the province’s connection outside the world and the export of petroleum products, as well as the ease of transporting products to other provinces of Iraq.

2- The geological structures in Basra Governorate are diverse, which is reflected in the diversity of rich in oil geological layers formations, which include the Fatha Formation (middle Miocene), the Mushrif Formation (Cenomanian), and the Zubair Formation (Al-Abatian), as the Cretaceous sediments period contributed to the concentration of oil deposits  therein, especially in the Zubair and Rumaila fields. Likewise, the deposits of the Dabdaba Formation, which belong to the period between the Upper Miocene and the Pliocene, contributed to the formation of a layer with a moderate slope, in which the thickness of the Dabdaba Formation varies, as it reaches (354) m in the Zubair field, in Safwan (140) m, , and decreases in the Rumaila field. About  73 m and decreases in  Aluhais field with 55 m.

3- The flatness of the city flat surface, with its eastern part elevation that ranging between (0.5 – 4.5) metres, and  on its western side elevation that ranges between (5 – 244) meters above the  sea level,  led to linking the refining industry with roads, transportation, connecting the Shuaiba refinery with oil fields to obtain the raw material through a network of pipelines or linking the refinery to a network of land roads to deliver production to consumption sites.                                                                                                                                   4- The climatic characteristics of the study area, especially the high temperatures, contribute to increasing the effectiveness of hydrogen gas, which is used to remove impurities. The high temperature also helps in the distillation process by separating derivatives from crude oil, such as crude oil, diesel, and jet fuel, as well as contributing to accelerating the reaction rate of petroleum derivatives. It increases its productivity, and humidity affects improving temperatures and improving the efficiency of devices and equipment in the refinery, as well as its contribution to the steam stripping process to remove impurities when filtering oil.