Five South Korean companies have won a combined US$7.2bn in orders from Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) to expand capacity and improve environmental standards at two national oil refineries — Mina Abdullah and Mina Al-Ahmadi
The contracts, which follow the US$12bn in bids approved in February 2014 for the state-run company’s clean fuels project, highlight efforts by the South Korean firms to shore up margins via joint bids with other local or foreign firms for major overseas construction projects, Reuters reported.
Overseas plant orders won by South Korean companies during Q1 2014 rose by 42.1 per cent from a year ago, according to the Kuwaiti Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
Daewoo Engineering & Construction Company Limited said in statement that it has won an order for the Mina Abdullah Refinery in Kuwait as part of a joint venture with Hyundai Heavy Industries Company Limited and Fluor Corporation.
The order is worth US$1.13bn each for the three companies, according to Daewoo Engineering & Construction Company Limited.
Meanwhile, Samsung Engineering Company Limited has announced that it got a separate US$1.62bn order for the Mina Abdullah Refinery as part of a joint venture with Petrofac Limited and Chicago Bridge & Iron Company.
GS Engineering & Construction Corporation and SK Engineering & Construction Company Limited also won an order for refinery work in Kuwait as part of a joint venture with Japan’s JGC Corporation.
The third order — for the Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery — is worth around US$1.66bn for each of the three companies, according to GS Engineering & Construction Corporation.
