Kuwait’s Emir, Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, on Wednesday kicked off the official celebration for the full operation of the Al-Zour Refinery.
This refinery ranks among the world’s top ten and accounts for 43.5% of Kuwait’s refining capacity. It comprises three smaller refineries.
Dr. Imad Al-Atiqi, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Oil in Kuwait, described Al-Zour refinery as one of the key projects in Kuwait’s development plans and a cornerstone of the 2040 Kuwait Petroleum Corporation’s strategic plan.
Al-Atiqi confirmed that the refinery has a significant role in supplying local power stations with clean fuel to meet the increasing demand for electricity due to population growth in the country.
He also explained that the pioneering project embodied the transformation of the developmental vision of “New Kuwait 2035.”
The project provided job opportunities for national labor, with approximately 1,400 recent graduates employed to participate in this monumental national industry, he added.
Al-Atiqi announced that with Al-Zour inauguration, they successfully achieved an extraordinary refining capacity exceeding two million barrels per day, distributed across six oil refineries, three of which located in Kuwait: Mina Abdullah, Mina Al-Ahmadi, and Al-Zour, collectively producing 1.415 million barrels per day.
The other three refineries are located outside Kuwait: Al-Duqm in Oman, Nghi Son in Vietnam, and Milazzo in Italy, with Kuwait’s share of their total production reaching approximately 600,000 barrels per day.
Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Company (KIPIC) Acting CEO Eng. Wadha Al-Khateeb said the inauguration of Al-Zour Refinery was an accomplishment added to the Clean Fuel Project at Al-Ahmadi and Abdullah Ports Refineries, launched in March 2022, which was “a milestone in history of oil and gas industry in our beloved nation, particularly refining industry.”
Al-Zour Refinery will have a production capacity of 615,000 barrels per day, she said, a strong push for Kuwait oil refining in line with international environmental standards, which would also enable KPC and its affiliate companies to expand the export and marketing of their products.
She said Al-Zour Refinery was capable of receiving all kinds of oils and could produce high-quality products like fuel oil, diesel, naphtha and low-sulfur fuel oil.
These products, added Al-Khateeb, could be exported to more than 30 countries in the region and around the world through a pier attached to the refinery.
Al-Zour Refinery also includes the largest complex for sulfur cracking units, said Al-Khateeb.
She said the new refinery would boost the State of Kuwait’s refining capacity from 800,000 bpd to 1.415 million bpd.
Al-Zour Refinery, she went on, would also use treated water for industrial and irrigation purposes. It includes stations to monitor air quality and uses special boilers to reduce emissions.
She said the oil sector was keen on contributing to facing climate change to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.
