A refinery in Kuwait City
Kuwait takes next step in Gulf refining expansion
Middle Eastern NOCs have turned to the downstream to take greater control over the global supply chain
State-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) has—after lengthy delays—completed one of two $15bn+ programmes designed to more than double the country’s refining capacity. KPC’s downstream-focused Kuwait National Petroleum Corp (KNPC) subsidiary finished work earlier in June on a new 70,000bl/d hydrocracking unit, expanding capacity to 454,000bl/d at the Mina Abdullah refinery. The new facility—hydrocracking unit 114—will produce low-sulphur diesel and kerosene to meet European standards. With this, it achieved mechanical completion a month ahead of schedule on the Clean Fuels Project (CFP), a $15.7bn programme to upgrade and expand the Mina Abdullah and Mina al-Ahmadi refineries to a combi
Also in this section
16 January 2026
The country’s global energy importance and domestic political fate are interlocked, highlighting its outsized oil and gas powers, and the heightened fallout risk
16 January 2026
The global maritime oil transport sector enters 2026 facing a rare convergence of crude oversupply, record newbuild deliveries and the potential easing of several geopolitical disruptions that have shaped trade flows since 2022
15 January 2026
Rebuilding industry, energy dominance and lower energy costs are key goals that remain at odds in 2026
14 January 2026
Chavez’s socialist reforms boosted state control but pushed knowledge and capital out of the sector, opening the way for the US shale revolution
