Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) has announced that three international consortia have recently won a combined US$12bn contract to revamp two existing oil refineries in the country
KNPC said that a consortium led by Japan’s JGC Corporation has recently won a bid to carry out US$4.8bn of work at the Mina Al Ahmadi refinery
Capable of processing 460,000 bpd, the facility is the largest of Kuwait’s three installations, according to the state-owned firm.
Meanwhile, two separate contracts were awarded to consortia led by the UK’s Petrofac for US$3.7bn and US-based Fluor Corporation for US$3.4bn for work on the 270,000 bpd Mina Abdullah refinery.
Petrofac will provide engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services, including the provision of 19 new refining units at Mina Abdulla, revamping of five existing units at the Shuaiba refinery, and building the accompanying inter-refinery transfer lines, KNPC said.
Fluor Corporation, meanwhile, will provide EPC services as well as associated commissioning, start-up and testing support. Contracts are expected to be finalised in April 2014, with construction work due to begin soon after, the Kuwait-owned company.
Following the upgrade work, Mina Abdulla and Mina Al Ahmadi would be able to produce cleaner-burning fuels, including low-sulphur varieties and Euro IV fuel. The combined capacity will also be expanded to reach a combined 800,000 bpd.
The new products will help Kuwait meet the demands of its established export markets. The country refines about one third of its crude oil production, of which around 660,000 bpd is sold abroad as refined products, according to OPEC.
The recent deals are part of a broader modernisation effort, known as the Clean Fuels Project, which includes plans to construct a new $14.5bn Al Zour refinery, with a capacity of 615,000 bpd.
In December 2013, Honeywell had announced it had been selected by KNPC to provide the front-end engineering design for the facility. The refinery, which will be the largest in the Middle East, is now expected to come on-line in 2018.
