Kuwait to set up company to run refinery complex

KUWAIT: Kuwait’s National Petroleum Company (KNPC) said yesterday it will set up a new company to run its planned Al-Zour refinery and petrochemical complex which, when built, will be the biggest in the Middle East.

The new company, KBRC, will also manage a planned permanent liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal, said KNPC Chief Executive Mohammed Al-Mutairi, according to comments on state news agency KUNA. He said that setting up KBRC would allow the independent management of the projects under one structure.

Mutairi told Reuters in October that commissioning of the 615,000 barrel per day refinery was expected to start in November 2019. Contracts to build the 3 billion cubic feet per day LNG import terminal were expected to be awarded early this year.

M eanwhile, Mutairi further stated that KNPC’s capital budget reached around KD 12 billion for the fiscal year 2016-17, while its operational budget for the same period is estimated to be around KD 889,385 million, adding that the company is implementing multi-billion plans and strategic projects exceeding KD 11 billion.

On a different front, Mutairi said KNPC has completed around 42 percent of environment-friendly petro project and expenses reached around KD 1.15 billion by the end of 2015, expecting expenditure on the project to reach KD 1.07 billion by the end of 2016. Mutairi also noted that KNPC is planning to establish 100 new oil stations to provide future adequate number of oil stations due to expanded overall developments in the country. — Agencies