Oil Minister Adil Abdulmahdi tours the besieged Baiji refinery on Sept. 11, 2014, a day after formally taking office. (Source: Office of Adil Abdulmahdi) Recommend 197 people recommend this. Sign Up to see what your friends recommend. Government security forces and militia fighters have broken the five-month siege on Iraq’s largest oil refinery, after a week-long campaign to retake the northern Iraqi town of Baiji from militants led by the so-called Islamic State (IS) group.Yet the refinery will not be usable for at least several months, according to refinery personnel and officials from Iraq’s state-run North Oil Company (NOC). Not only has the facility sustained damage that needs to be fully assessed, but key pipeline i… This content is for registered users. Please login to continue. If you are not a registered user, you may purchase a subscription or sign up for a free trial .