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