Al Zour Refinery

Last updated

Al Zour Refinery
Company type Government owned
Industry Oil refinery
Founded2007 (2007) (commissioned 2023)
Headquarters
Al-Zour
,
Kuwait
Products Petroleum, Petrochemicals
Owner Kuwait Integrated Petrochemical Industries Company
Parent Kuwait National Petroleum Company

The Al Zour Refinery is an oil refinery in southern Kuwait. It is the second-largest refinery in the Middle East [1] [2] [3] and an essential part of Kuwait Vision 2035. [4] [5] It is Kuwait's largest environmental friendly oil refinery. [6] [4]

Contents

Al Zour Refinery is a Kuwait-China cooperation project under the Belt and Road Initiative. [7]

History

The Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) first released plans to build what would have been the country's fourth oil refinery in May 2006 before construction was postponed in March 2008 due to political opposition. Two years later, however, the government re-approved construction, and the Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Company was created to manage its operations after 2019. [8]

Initial plan

The Kuwait National Petroleum Company released plans to construct the refinery in July 2007. In May 2008, it awarded construction contracts; the largest contract was granted to a consortium of Japan's JGC Corporation and South Korea's GS Engineering & Construction, covering the installation of six distillation and atmospheric residue desulphurisation units, and diesel, naphtha, and kerosene hydrotreating plants. Korea's SK Engineering & Construction was charged with constructing the hydrogen plants, as well as the compression and sulphur recovery units; Daelim Industrial was to construct storage tanks; and Hyundai Engineering and Construction was to be responsible for the marine works. U.S. engineering and construction firm Fluor Corporation was awarded the offsites and utilities contract. [9] KNPC announced that it would be operational in 2012 and that it planned on spending approximately $14 billion on the project. [10] The refinery is expected to have a capacity of 615,000 bbl/d (97,800 m3/d), which would have made it the largest refinery in the Middle East. [11]

Initial cancellation

In March 2009, the Kuwaiti government informed the contractors to halt construction, citing a drop in oil prices. Some investment analysts predicted the project's cancellation as early as December 2008. [12] Furthermore, the project encountered political opposition by lawmakers who claimed that the government had not consulted the Central Tenders Committee before awarding contracts to foreign companies. [13]

However, in June 2011, the Supreme Petroleum Council—Kuwait's oil agency—re-approved construction of the refinery in Al Ahmadi, Kuwait. Construction had been halted due to financial concerns and political wrangling, but the Oil Minister affirmed that Kuwait was indeed moving forward with the refinery that would be able to process 615,000 barrels of oil per day. The estimated cost is $14.5 billion, or 4 billion dinars. [13] In May 2012 Kuwait's three existing refineries produced 930,000 barrels per day. [8]

Relaunch

The Kuwait National Petroleum Company announced that it would relaunch a tender in June 2012. [8] The revised project timeline aims for completion in June 2019. [14] The majority of EPC contracts were issued to Fluor, Daewoo, Hyundai Heavy Industries, Tecnicas Reunidas, Sinopec, Hanwha Engineering and Construction, SK Engineering, Amec (Wood) and Saipem, amongst others. [15] Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Company was created to manage the operations.

Finally, the first phase of Al-Zour integrated refining and petrochemical complex has been commissioned in January 2023. [16] All three phases of the refinery are commissioned successfully.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economy of Kuwait</span>

The economy of Kuwait is a wealthy petroleum-based economy. Kuwait is one of the richest countries in the world. The Kuwaiti dinar is the highest-valued unit of currency in the world. According to the World Bank, Kuwait is the fifth richest country in the world by gross national income per capita.

The Rumaila oil field is a super-giant oil field located in southern Iraq, approximately 50km to the south west of Basra City. Discovered in 1953 by the Basrah Petroleum Company (BPC), an associate company of the Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC), the field is estimated to contain 17 billion barrels, which accounts for 12% of Iraq's oil reserves, estimated at 143 billion barrels. Rumaila is said to be the largest oilfield ever discovered in Iraq and one of the three largest oilfields in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sinopec</span> Chinese oil and gas enterprise

China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation, or Sinopec, is a Chinese oil and gas enterprise based in Beijing. It is listed in Hong Kong and also trades in Shanghai.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kuwait Oil Company</span> Oil company based in Ahmadi, Kuwait

Kuwait Oil Company (KOC), an oil company headquartered in Al Ahmadi, Kuwait, is a subsidiary of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, a government-owned holding company. Kuwait was the world's 10th largest petroleum and other liquids producer in 2010. The company produced a total of 1.7 million barrels per day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">China National Petroleum Corporation</span> Chinese major national oil and gas corporation

The China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) is a major national oil and gas corporation of China and one of the largest integrated energy groups in the world. Its headquarters are in Dongcheng District, Beijing. CNPC was ranked fourth in 2022 Fortune Global 500, a global ranking of the largest corporations by revenue.

Fluor Corporation is an American multinational engineering and construction firm, headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is a holding company that provides services through its subsidiaries in three main areas: oil and gas, industrial and infrastructure, government and power. It is the largest publicly traded engineering and construction company in the Fortune 500 rankings and is listed as 265th overall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kuwait National Petroleum Company</span>

The Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) is the national oil refining company of Kuwait. Established in October 1960, KNPC has the mandate for oil refining, gas liquefaction, and distribution of petroleum goods within the local market. KNPC also handles CFP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kuwait Petroleum Corporation</span> State-owned oil company of Kuwait

Kuwait Petroleum Corporation is Kuwait's major national oil company, headquartered in Al Kuwait.

Silk City is a large infrastructure project in northern Kuwait which is currently under development. The project will be built in individual phases. In May 2019, the Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah Causeway opened as part of the Silk City project's first phase, the project's first phase also includes Mubarak Al Kabeer Port which is currently under construction. The Silk City project is part of China's Belt and Road Initiative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Consolidated Contractors Company</span> Athens-based Middle East construction company

Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC) is the largest construction company in the Middle East and ranks among the top 25 international contractors with a revenue of US$5.3 billion in 2013 and 1.872 billion by 2020. CCC has offices and projects in over 40 countries, and in 2023 had a workforce of 36,000 employees. In April 2019, CCC was engaged in 40 ongoing projects globally. The majority of its sales are in the Middle East.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">QatarEnergy</span> Qatari state-owned oil company

QatarEnergy, formerly Qatar Petroleum (QP), is a state owned petroleum company of Qatar. The company operates all oil and gas activities in Qatar, including exploration, production, refining, transport, and storage. The President & CEO is Saad Sherida al-Kaabi, Minister of State for Energy Affairs. The company's operations are directly linked with state planning agencies, regulatory authorities, and policy making bodies. Together, revenues from oil and natural gas amount to 60% of the country's GDP. As of 2018 it was the third largest oil company in the world by oil and gas reserves. In 2022, the company had total revenues of US$52bn, a net income of US42.4bn, and total assets of US$162bn. In 2021, QatarEnergy was the fifth largest gas company in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abadan Refinery</span> Oil refinery in Abadan, Iran

The Abadan refinery is an oil refinery in Abadan, Iran near the coast of the Persian Gulf.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">China National Offshore Oil Corporation</span> Chinese national oil company

China National Offshore Oil Corporation, or CNOOC Group, is the third-largest national oil company in China, after CNPC and China Petrochemical Corporation. The CNOOC Group focuses on the exploitation, exploration and development of crude oil and natural gas in offshore China, along with its subsidiary COOEC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company</span>

Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company runs the only oil refinery in Jordan and was established in 1956. The idea of establishing Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company dates back to more than half a century when the idea was adopted by the then Ministry of National Economy, and there was a consensus on the importance of refining industry as a main source of energy for most of the economic activities and as a contributor to raising the Kingdom's revenues. Although it is the only Refinery in Jordan, it managed to supply the local market with all its needs of various petroleum products, and its establishment had led to complete dependence on the imported high-cost oil derivatives; this had saved the Jordanian economy significant amounts of foreign currency, made available thousands job opportunities to citizens, opened the door to other new industries, and contributed to supporting important economy sectors such as the sector of electricity, transportation, industry and constructions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bahrain Petroleum Company</span> State-owned oil company of Bahrain

The Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) is an integrated petroleum company that is the national oil company of Bahrain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Petroleum industry in Iraq</span> Worlds fifth largest proven petroleum reserves

Iraq was the world's 5th largest oil producer in 2009, and has the world's fifth largest proven petroleum reserves. Just a fraction of Iraq's known fields are in development, and Iraq may be one of the few places left where vast reserves, proven and unknown, have barely been exploited. Iraq's energy sector is heavily based upon oil, with approximately 94 percent of its energy needs met with petroleum. In addition, crude oil export revenues accounted for over two-thirds of GDP in 2009. Iraq's oil sector has suffered over the past several decades from sanctions and wars, and its oil infrastructure is in need of modernization and investment. As of June 30, 2010, the United States had allocated US$2.05 billion to the Iraqi oil and gas sector to begin this modernization, but ended its direct involvement as of the first quarter of 2008. According to reports by various U.S. government agencies, multilateral institutions and other international organizations, long-term Iraq reconstruction costs could reach $100 billion (US) or higher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uganda Oil Refinery</span>

The Uganda Oil Refinery is a planned crude oil refinery in Kabaale village, on the Eastern shore of Lake Albert along the Hoima–Kaiso–Tonya Road, Buseruka Sub-county, Hoima District, Western Region, Uganda, near the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It has been planned since 2010. Community opposition was repressed early on. After 5 years of negotiations the Albertine Graben Refinery Consortium (AGRC) formed in 2018 and agreed to design and build the refinery.

The Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah Causeway is a causeway in Kuwait with an estimated construction value of approximately US$2,66 billion under China's Belt and Road Initiative, the causeway is part of the first phase of the Silk City project. The causeway spans the Bay of Kuwait in two directions and comprises two projects: Main Link, which connects Kuwait City with northern Kuwait ; and Doha Link, which connects Kuwait City with Doha. It crosses two artificial islands which were constructed for entertainment and tourism purposes. The causeway project is part of Kuwait Vision 2035.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imad Mohammad Alatiqi</span> Deputy prime minister of Kuwait

Imad Mohammad Alatiqi is a current Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Oil in Kuwait, as well as an influential oil expert, researcher, and academic who has made significant contributions to the fields of petroleum research studies and oil policy-making in Kuwait through various leadership positions and membership in the Supreme Petroleum Council (SPC) of Kuwait.

References

  1. ↑ "Sinopec completes main unit of the Middle East's largest refinery". Hydrocarbon Processing. 16 December 2019.
  2. ↑ "Largest Refinery Project in the Middle East". Process Worldwide. 24 August 2016.
  3. ↑ "Start-up of Kuwait's al-Zour refinery still months off". Argus Media . 16 March 2021.
  4. 1 2 Ellie Pritchard (22 June 2021). "Al-Zour: Kuwait's vision of becoming an international hub in the Middle East". Valve World. Archived from the original on 21 January 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  5. ↑ "Al-Zour refinery strategic project of Kuwait 2035 Vision". Kuwait News Agency (KUNA). 1 May 2017.
  6. ↑ Talal Aljiran; Walid Alkandari (13 October 2019). "Site Preparation & Soil remediation for Kuwait's Largest Environmental Friendly oil Refinery, by Utilizing Dredging & Soil Compaction". OnePetro. doi:10.2118/198101-MS. S2CID   210318313.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ↑ "Feature: Kuwait's refinery project showcases Chinese concept of "win-win cooperation"". Xinhua News Agency . 14 December 2019. Archived from the original on 14 December 2019.
  8. 1 2 3 "Kuwait to tender for oil refinery in June-official". Thomson Reuters. 8 May 2012. Archived from the original on 3 February 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  9. ↑ "KNPC - Al Zour Refinery". Zawya. Retrieved 23 December 2008.
  10. ↑ Ackerman, Ruthie (20 March 2009). "Kuwait Fluor Deal Falls Through". Forbes. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  11. ↑ "$15bn budget for Al-Zour refinery unchanged". Kuwait Times. 13 May 2008. Archived from the original on 13 February 2012. Retrieved 23 December 2008.
  12. ↑ Daley, Will (20 March 2009). "Fluor Says Kuwait Halts $2.1 Billion in Refinery Work (Update4)". Bloomberg. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  13. 1 2 MacDonald, Fiona (28 June 2011). "Kuwait May Tap Private Investors for $14.5 Billion Refinery". Bloomberg Businessweek. Archived from the original on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  14. ↑ "KIPIC: Al Zour Refinery". KIPIC. Archived from the original on 21 September 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  15. ↑ "KNPC Awards Contracts worth US$11.5bn for al-Zour Refinery". Middle East Oil Review. 29 July 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  16. ↑ https://www.ogj.com/refining-processing/article/14288157/kuwaits-new-alzour-refinery-enters-commercial-operation

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.