Iraq began to rebuild its largest oil refinery this week, jumpstarting an effort to reconstruct the country after a three-year war with the terroristic Islamic State, an announcement from the oil ministry said . The Baiji complex should produce 70,000 barrels of oil per day upon completion, ministry spokesman Assem Jihad told reporters on Thursday. The facility, originally constructed in 1975, is currently completely offline and refined between 250,000 to 300,000 barrels per day before it was seized by ISIS in 2014. “The rehabilitation will allow the distribution of refined products for the north of the country and reduce our imports,” said Jihad. Baiji is strategically located along Highway 1, which runs from Baghdad to Rabia, a border town in the North West of Iraq. It is only 111 kilometers from Kirkuk and therefore encroaches on the oil concessions that have been granted by the KRG to international oil […]