Kuwait restarted Al Zour refinery’s 205,000 b/d CDU-2 on 13 December according to Reuters, more than a month after a fire at the 615,000 b/d facility (MEES, 31 October). The fire occurred at two of the refinery’s three atmospheric residue desulfurization units (ARDS). CDU-2’s ARDS-2 unit is also back in operation. Two of Al Zour’s three 205,000 b/d CDUs are now operational. In November, the refinery operated on a single CDU only, significantly impacting Kuwait’s product exports amid refinery turnarounds elsewhere. This forced state firm KPC to sell crude volumes previously allocated to Al Zour on spot basis. The remaining unit, CDU-1, is expected back online later this month at the earliest, meaning that Kuwaiti refining runs will remain relatively low for the rest of the year (MEES, 5 December).