SPIE unit wins KNPC clean fuels project deal

CERGY, France: The France-based SPIE Oil & Gas Services firm has won a five-year contract with Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) under Clean Fuels Project which is currently under EPC phase of implementation. The project encompasses increasing the combined refining capacities of its Mina Al Ahmadi (MAA) and Mina Abdullah (MAB) Refineries and enhance production of environment friendly value added products through Bottom of Barrel processing using state of the art technologies. The Project also contributes towards linking the two refineries into an integrated refining complex and further enhance performance towards operational safety, reliability and energy conservation.

SPIE Oil & Gas Services has begun work on the five-year contract with Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC). The services shall involve providing Commissioning Management and Support Services at both Mina Al Ahmadi (MAA) and Mina Abdullah (MAB) Refineries under CFP Scope of Work. The contract will draw the expertise of SPIE Oil & Gas Services and work in tandem with KNPC Operations Team. The Clean Fuels Project (CFP) aims upgrade Kuwait’s existing refineries and raise overall capacity to 800,000 bbl/d by 2018. The planned overhaul of Kuwait’s refining sector includes building a new Al-Zour refinery, shutting down the Al-Shuaiba refinery, and retiring old units and installing new components at the remaining refineries. A crude distillation unit will be taken out of commission at the Mina Al-Ahmadi, and Mina Abdullah will lose a number of components, but its overall capacity will increase by 184,000 bbl/d.

Along with the Al-Zour refinery project, KNPC is expected to spend around KD 10 billion on the major upgrades. In mid-October, KNPC announced that it was in the process of finalizing the plans for a second loan of more than $5 billion to help finance the projects. The deal was expected to be completed by fourth quarter 2016 or first quarter 2017. Local investment bank, NBK Capital is acting as exclusive financial advisor on the loan.