Page 11 - DMEA Week 28 2021

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First LNG cargo arrives at Al-Zour

MIDDLE EAST KUWAIT’S new regasification terminal at metres per day of gas.
Al-Zour received its first shipment of LNG this Imports of LNG are seen playing a major role
week as work remains ongoing to prepare per- in Kuwait’s aim to increase the use of cleaner
manent units for start-up. fuels, with the same aim aided by the recent com-
According to the Kuwait News Agency pletion of its $15.7bn Clean Fuels Project which
(KUNA), state-owned Kuwait Integrated Petro- covered the overhaul and expansion of its two
leum Industries Co. (KIPIC) received a 213,000 key existing oil refineries.
cubic metre cargo of Qatari LNG at its LNG The $16.1bn Al-Zour complex will also be
Import (LNGI) terminal. home to a 615,000 barrel per day (bpd) refinery
A KIPIC spokesman said that the firm was that is due for commissioning later this year.
expecting to receive a second consignment of KIPIC had set a target commissioning date
Qatari gas, this time on a vessel with a capacity of late 2020 for the refinery but this was pushed
of 217,000 cubic metres. back to Q1 2021 as restrictions relating to coro-
The news follows reports that KIPIC’s parent, navirus (COVID-19) slowed progress.
Kuwait Petroleum Corp. (KPC) had contacted The refinery’s first mini refining unit will
traders last month for a cargo delivered ex-ship begin operations in November, as it gradually
(DES). ramps up ahead of being fully operational at the
The 22mn tonne per year (tpy) facility is part end of Q1 2022.
of a massive new downstream hub at Al-Zour Meanwhile, a 2.8mn tpy petrochemical facil-
developed by KIPIC which was set up for the ity is expected to follow, with a provisional date
purpose. set for 2024 on units that will be capable of pro-
LNGI is home to eight storage tanks with a ducing 1.4mn tpy of paraxylene (PX), 940,000
capacity of 225,000 cubic metres and a regasifi- tpy of polypropylene (PP) and 420,000 tpy of
cation facility capable of processing 3bn cubic gasoline.™

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