Karbala Oil Refinery power plant — Iraq

Karbala Oil Refinery power plant is a 200 MW oil power station in Karbala, Iraq. It is operated by Ministry of Oil (Iraq) [100%]. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 150k homes (estimated). It ranks #74 of 91 Iraq power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2023, it is around 3 years old — recently built. In context, oil supplies about 45.4% of Iraq's electricity; the national grid averages 683 gCO₂/kWh (1.6% low-carbon) (2024).

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id GOGPT_karbalaoilrefinery_iraq.

Data provenance

The capacity and/or fuel fields on this page include a source-backed provenance label from GEM, an official registry, Wikidata, OSM, or a cross-source match.

capacity: GEM · 2026 · L100000409188; fuel: GEM GOGPT

In context: how this plant compares

At 200 MW, Karbala Oil Refinery power plant is below the median oil plant in Iraq (300 MW). Oil-fired plants burn heavy fuel oil or diesel, usually as peaking or backup capacity on islands and grids without gas pipelines; high fuel cost keeps their utilisation low.

Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.

Capacity vs largest oil plants in Iraq

Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by Ministry of Oil (Iraq) [100%].

Climate zone & how it works

This oil plant burns oil or diesel to drive turbines or reciprocating engines. It sits in a hot desert climate (Köppen BWh) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 32.3°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

Climate zone & typical temperatures: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid).

Site climate & environmental severity

For a plant’s outdoor hardware — heat-recovery steam generators (HRSG), expansion joints, valves, flanges and their insulation — the local climate sets how fast unprotected steel and coatings degrade. This site sits in a benign, low-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C1 — Very low), with dust abrasion the leading environmental stress.

Higher environmental severity is exactly where protective removable insulation pays back most: a sheltered micro-climate slows corrosion, UV and thermal-cycling damage and extends outdoor hardware service life. This is an indicative site-climate context — not a condition assessment of any specific plant or operator.

Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #20 largest oil power plant of 28 in Iraq by capacity.

Iraq has 28 oil power plants in this dataset, together about 19,949 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• Karbala Gas power plant · Gas · 382 MW · Kerbala
• Al-Khairat power station · Gas · 5,835 MW · Kerbala
• Haydariya power station · Gas · 912 MW · Najaf
• Hillah 2 power station · Gas · 375 MW · Babylon (Babil)
• Hillah power station · Gas · 144.9 MW · Babylon
• East Karbla Diesel power station · Oil · 300 MW · Karbala

Location

Coordinates 32.343665, 44.095158 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions