Kuwait National Petroleum Company

The Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) (Arabic: شركة البترول الوطنية الكويتية‎) is the national oil refining company of Kuwait. Established in October 1960, KNPC handles the responsibility of oil refining, gas liquefaction, and distribution of petroleum goods within the local market. KNPC is also handling CFP (Clean Fuel project).

State of Kuwait
Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC)
شركة البترول الوطنية الكويتية

KNPC Headoffice
Agency overview
HeadquartersAl Ahmadi
Agency executive
  • Waleed Al-Bader, Chief Executive Officer
Parent agencyKuwait Petroleum Corporation
Websitehttp://www.knpc.com

History

Established in October 1960[1][2] as a share-holding company owned by the Kuwait government and private sector, KNPC became fully government-owned in 1975.[3] Since 1968 the company had been exporting petroleum products from its Shuaiba Refinery.In April 2017 Kuwait closed the Shuaiba refinery, which was one of the oldest oil facilities in the region.[4] In 1980, following the restructuring of the oil sector in Kuwait, KNPC was placed under the newly created Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), which was also government owned.[3] Under this position, KNPC took control of distributing petroleum products within Kuwait, along with the ownership of the Mina Ahmadi and Mina Abdullah refineries.[5][6]

Refineries
  • Mina Abdullah refinery: Built in 1958 by the American Independent Oil Company,[7] Mina Abdullah was passed to the Kuwaiti state in 1975 and transferred to KNPC in 1978.[8] Spanning 7,835,000 m², and located 46 km south of Kuwait City, Mina Abdullah is capable of refining 730,000 barrels per day (116,000 m3/d) (BPD).[9]
  • Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery: Initially built in 1949, the refinery was handed over to KNPC in 1980. Spanning 10,534,000 m², it is located 40 km south of Kuwait City[10][11] with a production capacity of 730,000 bbl/d (116,000 m3/d).[12] In 2014 KNPC started the production of ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD) at Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery.[13]
  • Shuaiba Refinery: Built in 1966, Shuaiba Refinery was the first refinery in the region to be built by a national company. The refinery spanned 1,332,000 m² and was located 50 km south of Kuwait City within the Shuaiba Industrial Area. The refinery had a capacity of 200,000 bbl/d (32,000 m3/d). In March 2017 the refinery was shut down in order that its facilities could be repurposed for the country's Clean Fuels Project (CFP).[14]
  • Al Zour Refinery: KNPC released plans to build a fourth refinery known as Al-Zour in 2006. In 2012 the plans were revamped because of the re-approval by the Supreme Petroleum Council of Kuwait. The refinery is expected to have a capacity of 615,000 bbl/d (97,800 m3/d), making it the largest refinery in the middle east.[15] In May 2008, Kuwait National Petroleum Company awarded the four remaining EPC contracts: Process Package 1 was awarded to the Consortium of JGC Corporation and GS Engineering & Construction, Process Package 2 was awarded to SK Engineering & Construction, Storage Tanks Package was awarded to Daelim Industrial Company, Marine Works Package was awarded to Hyundai Engineering & Construction, and The Offsites & Utilities package was awarded to Fluor Corporation.[16]

The Contracts have now been revoked and the project being out on hold for lack of transparency in the awarding of the contracts to the companies mentioned above.[17]

Philanthropy

KNPC provides scholarships and training and sponsors refinery operation specialization at the College of Technological Studies of The Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET).[3]

See also

References
  1. Mary Ann Tétreault (1 January 1995). The Kuwait Petroleum Corporation and the Economics of the New World Order. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 7. ISBN 978-0-89930-510-3. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  2. "Resources and power". Britannica. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  3. "Kuwait National Petroleum Company". Bibliotheca Alexandrina. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  4. "Kuwait to close ageing Shuaiba refinery on April 1". Gulf Business. March 29, 2017. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  5. "Mina Abdullah Refinery". Kuwait National Petroleum Company. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  6. "Mina Al Ahmadi Refinery". Kuwait National Petroleum Company. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  7. "KNPC- Mina Abdulla Refinery - Phase 1". Oil & Gas News. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  8. Axon, Anthony; Hewitt, Susan (9 December 2019). Kuwait 1975/76 – 2019. Koninklijke Brill NV. p. 383. ISBN 9789004423817. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  9. Kuwait Country Study Guide Volume 1 Strategic Information ad Developments. International Business Publications. 20 March 2009. p. 263. ISBN 9781438727684. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  10. "Kuwait refinery explosion kills four". Oil & Gas Journal. June 26, 2000. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  11. Wang, Henry K. H. (2017). Energy Markets in Emerging Economies: Strategies for growth. Routledge. p. 241. ISBN 9781134886920. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  12. "Mina Al-Ahmadi Refinery". Luxsolar. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  13. "KNPC commissions new unit at Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery". Oil & Gas Journal. January 6, 2020. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  14. "Kuwait shuts down Shuaiba refinery". www.theoilandgasyear.com. Retrieved 2018-03-25.
  15. "Al-Zour Refinery Project". NS Energy. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  16. "KIPIC's Al-Zour Refinery Project". Total Energy Informatics. January 2020. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  17. KNPC - Al Zour Refinery
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