KIPIC has introduced hydrocarbon to run the gas pipeline project, which will feed the Al-Zour refinery
The Al-Zour refinery is being built approximately 90km south of the Kuwait city. (Credit: KIPIC)
Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries (KIPIC), a subsidiary of state-owned Kuwait Petroleum, has commissioned the gas line designed to feed the $19bn Al-Zour refinery.
The move marks the completion of a crucial stage of the Al-Zour refinery located approximately 90km south of the Kuwait city, Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported.
Being developed through five work packages, the 615,000 barrels per day (bpd) crude oil refinery forms part of the $27bn Al-Zour integrated complex.
The complex also comprises 11 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) LNG import terminal and a petrochemical complex.
In 2006, KNPC revealed plans to build the Al-Zour refinery. However, the project was postponed repeatedly due to several concerns including political opposition.
Al-Zour refinery to increase Kuwait’s refining capacity to 1.5 million bpd
According to Reuters, the long-delayed Al-Zour refinery is expected to bring Kuwait’s overall refining capacity to more than 1.5 million barrels a day, upon completion.
Last year, the COOEC-Fluor Heavy Industries (COOEC-Fluor) joint venture completed the module programme for the Al-Zour refinery project.
COOEC-Fluor completed the delivery of 188 modules in 20 separate shipments with a combined weight of 65,000 metric tonnes for the refinery project.
In July 2019, Honeywell was selected by KIPIC for reconfiguring Al-Zour refinery’s refining and petrochemicals sections with Honeywell UOP technology.
Honeywell UOP was contracted to provide technology licenses, design services, key equipment, catalysts and adsorbents for the production of clean-burning fuels, paraxylene, propylene and other petrochemicals.
The Al-Zour refinery will have the capacity to process Kuwait light crude or heavy mix crude to produce low-sulfur fuel.
The refinery’s end products include diesel, jet fuel, kerosene, LPG, in addition to granulated sulphur and naphtha feedstock for petrochemical plants.