Kuwait Integrated Petrochemical Industries Co (KIPIC), a subsidiary of Kuwait Petroleum Corp, plans to develop a facility that will be integrated with the adjacent Al-Zour refinery and will add a gasoline block, an aromatics block, an olefins conversion technology unit, polypropylene units, and associated utility and offsite facilities to the existing site to produce nearly 2.7 mtpa of aromatics and polypropylene
The Al-Zour refinery project is a greenfield, environmentally-driven project and part of Kuwait’s National Development Plan that sets out the nation’s long-term development priorities, including the aim to position the country as a global hub for the refining and petrochemicals industry.
The refinery is located approximately 90 kms south of Kuwait City, and is one of the largest refineries built in one phase, with a capacity to process 615,000 barrels per day (bpd) of a wide slate of Kuwait domestic crude oils, including Kuwait export crude and Kuwait heavy crude.
Tracking progress
After the petrochemical projects are completed and attached to the refinery, the Al-Zour Oil complex will become one of the largest integrated oil complexes in the world, which includes a refinery, permanent facilities for importing liquefied natural gas and a petrochemical complex
Special study work has been completed to improve the designs of private buildings for the integrated petrochemicals project project to comply with the requirements of sustainable and environmentally friendly green buildings and a draft final report has been submitted for review by the project consultant and team for comments or approval.
The estimated capacity of the project is 2.7 mtpa of aromatic compounds and polypropylene and 1.7 mtpa of gasoline. It consists of the third olefins plant, the second
aromatics plant and the catalyst cracking unit, in order to produce high-quality products such as paraxylene, polypropylene, gasoline and car fuel to meet the increasing demand for car fuel in the local market and other products for export to global markets. The project also provides opportunities to develop more manufacturing industries subsequently by entrepreneurs at the local level.
Contract activity
In the annual plan recently issued by KIPIC, the company said it plans to bid for the corporate planning contract for the Al-Zour Integrated Complex Upgrade Program, as the contract will take six months to implement with the tender being issued in May this year.
KIPIC’s annual plan says the company aims to tender corporate planning work in May this year, and sources believe the tender may be delayed due to the government’s resignation.
For most of 2022, KIPIC halted the project while it awaited the results of the final feasibility study conducted by UK-based research and advisory group Wood Mackenzie, at a time when the corporate planning contract could include studies related to “maximizing heavy crude oil” at the Al-Zour refinery, which currently produces low sulfur fuel oil.