Page 13 - DMEA Week 45

DMEA REFINING DMEA

Kuwait leads way in Middle Eastern

refining growth: GlobalData

KUWAIT KUWAIT will lead the way in terms of refining for global markets.
capacity growth in the Middle East over the next GlobalData sees Saudi Arabia contributing
The Gulf state will add five years, according to a report by GlobalData. the second-largest amount of new capacity,
some 615,000 bpd of The Gulf state is expected to add some accounting for 25% of the total, or about 470,000
extra capacity by 2024, 615,000 barrels per day (bpd) of extra through- bpd by 2024. State-owned Saudi Aramco
or 31% of the region’s put capacity by 2024, or 31% of the region’s total shipped its first cargo from the new 400,000 bpd
total additions. growth. This extra capacity will come from the Jizan refinery in September, indicating that the
Al-Zour project in the country’s south. plant is at an advanced stage of commissioning.
Kuwait has also set out to modernise its exist- Saudi Arabia is also expanding its refineries
ing Al-Ahmadi and Abdullah refineries, as it in Jubail and Yanbu.
strives to double national capacity to 1.6mn bpd According to GlobalData, Iraq will be the
by 2025. It also wants to produce more high- third-biggest contributor, supplying 310,000
er-value products such as diesel and kerosene bpd of new capacity by 2024. The planned Kar-
that can be exported. bala refinery will account for around half of the
GlobalData estimates that overall Middle country’s capacity additions.
Eastern refining capacity will expand by around Karbala was first proposed back in 2007,
17% from 11.6mn bpd in 2020 to 13.6mn bpd but has seen repeated delays. Iraq’s oil minis-
by 2024. Some 1.5mn bpd is anticipated to come try predicted last year that the plant would be
from greenfield projects and 0.5mn bpd from the ready in 2021, but its launch was subsequently
expansion of already working refineries. pushed back again to 2023. It said recently that
“Kuwait leads the refinery capacity growth in construction of the facility was nearing 90%
the Middle East through the planned Al-Zour completion.
project, one of the biggest upcoming refineries In fourth and fifth place, according to
in the world,” GlobalData analyst Amareswari GlobalData, are Oman and Iran. All of the extra
Kanaparthi explained. capacity will come from greenfield projects in
The Al-Zour refinery will produce low-sul- Oman, where OQ and Kuwait Petroleum aim to
phur fuel oil for domestic power generation, launch the 230,000 bpd Duqm refinery in early
helping reduce the country’s emissions from this 2022. The bulk of the new capacity in Iran will
sector, and turn out other products like jet fuel come from existing facilities. ™

Week 45 12•November•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P13