The Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Co (KIPIC) launched the first phase of al-Zour refinery commercial operations on Sunday after the project started last month to produce and sell primary quantities of fuel oil and supply it to local power stations.
In a statement to (KUNA), Acting CEO of (KIPIC) Waleed al-Bader said the operation is an important historical event and is considered a pillar of the country's development plan.
Bader stressed that the refinery provides fuel of high quality and environmental standards to meet the local energy demand, as it limits emissions of gases polluting the environment and improves air quality.
He indicated that it is a vital outlet for the disposal of heavy Kuwaiti oil and provides other refined products for export in global markets with standard specifications.
Furthermore, he praised the unique role of the national expertise and the Kuwaiti youth, who were qualified according to the highest professional levels in leading and implementing the operations at the refinery.
Bader expressed his gratitude and appreciation for all the efforts to helped make this national achievement.
The company had already started operation of the refinery's first phase, followed by the second and third phases, moving towards total maximum refining capacity.
Executive Vice President of al-Zour Refinery Khaled al-Awadhi said KIPIC carried out the trial operation of the first crude oil distillation unit and refined 2.5 million barrels of crude oil, securing the main stock of oil derivatives that contributed to the smooth process of the rest of the units.
He added that fuel oil was also produced from the crude oil distillation unit, which was improved to match the specifications required by the Ministry of Electricity and Water, and supplied about 278,000 tons of fuel oil at peak demand from power plants, in coordination with the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation.
Awadhi said the refinery achieved the first commercial operation related to sending petroleum products to meet the needs of the Ministry of Electricity and Water.
Last Tuesday, Reuters quoted two industry sources saying that the Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (KUFPEC) issued a tender to sell a liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo for loading in Australia in December.
They added that the cargo was free-on-board (FOB) from the Wheatstone plant in Australia for Dec. 19 to 24 loading, and the tender was launched on Wednesday and closed Thursday.
KUFPEC, Kuwait's foreign energy exploration arm, is a stakeholder in the Chevron-operated Wheatstone LNG project.
