Iraq reopens North Refinery in Baiji closed for a decade

Iraq on Friday reopened the North Refinery in the Baiji complex, which came to symbolise the country's turbulence, after being closed for a decade, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said in a statement.

The refinery was shut in 2014 when Islamic State group fighters seized it after taking over large swathes of the country, a major OPEC oil producer.

It has a refining capacity of 150,000 barrels per day after reopening.

It also faced threats from Al Qaeda. The group had enough control over the Baiji area that it was able to intimidate refinery workers and hijack its refined products. It sold the products to neighbouring countries and used the profits to finance its insurgency.