Kuwait’s state refiner KNPC has officially launched its downstream strategy to 2040, under which the company will invest around $25bn by 2040 on a number of projects including a new refinery and two gas fractionation trains (MEES, 30 November).

KNPC chief executive Muhammad al-Mutairi says the company aims to increase Kuwait’s refining capacity to 2mn b/d by 2035. KNPC is currently undertaking a comprehensive study for a new refinery, most likely to be built in southern Kuwait, he added. Kuwait’s current crude distillation capacity is 736,000 b/d, but this is expected to rise to 801,000 b/d in 2019 with the completion of the ‘clean fuels project (CFP)’ expansion of the Mina al-Ahmadi and Mina Abdullah refineries. (CONTINUED - 891 WORDS)