Page 11 - DMEA Week 36 2022

DMEA REFINING & FUELS DMEA

It did not disclose the size of the cargo but said because it confirms the importance of the
that representatives of its local affiliate KP Italia, European market to KPC and shows that KPI,
as well as KPC’s international marketing direc- through its team in Italy, is a stable, reliable and
torate, had been present to mark the arrival of trusted partner that is ready and able to meet all
the fuel. customer needs,” he commented. “Our goal is
The diesel sailed from Kuwait to Italy on the to provide a stable supply chain to meet diverse
Al-Soor II, a vessel owned by Kuwait Oil Tanker mobility needs, and we will continue to do so
Co. KPC’s international marketing directorate with the help of our parent company and sister
helped arrange the shipment, KPI said. companies in Kuwait.”
The company also noted that the ULSD had KPI is mostly active in Europe. It operates
been produced at the Mina Abdullah refinery, more than 4,700 filling stations there under
a 240,000 barrel per day (bpd) oil-processing the brand names Q8, Q8Easy and Tango and
plant owned by Kuwait National Petroleum also provides jet fuel to more than 70 airlines at
Co. (KNPC). That plant, along with the Mina major airport hubs. The company also has equity
Al Ahmadi refinery, has been upgraded within stakes in refineries in Italy, Oman and Vietnam
the framework of KNPC’s Clean Fuels Project, and owns two lubricant blending plants that
to allow the production of higher-quality fuels operate under the brand name Q8Oils in Italy
with lower sulphur content. and Belgium. ™
As a result of this project, which was com-
pleted in 2020, the Mina Abdullah plant has
gained the ability to turn out diesel that meets
Euro-6 emissions standards.
Waleed Ben Ali, the acting president and
CEO of KPI, hailed the company’s successful
delivery of its first ULSD cargo to Italy. “Kuwait
Petroleum’s footprint in the European markets
is 40 years strong because we have consistently
provided our customers with energy that meets
their need for a diverse slate of cleaner products,”
he said. “We look forward to further integration
with our parent company KPC and our sister
companies in Kuwait so we can further integrate
our supply chain and grow our global business.”
Fadel Al-Faraj, the managing director of KP
Italia, spoke similarly. “I am very proud we have
concluded this deal with our parent company KPI representatives received the fuel in Naples on September 1 (Photo: KUNA)

Israeli PM OKs sale of Haifa refinery

to Israel Petrochemical Enterprises

MIDDLE EAST ISRAEL Petrochemical Enterprises is set to go unanimously in March of this year to shut the
ahead with the acquisition of Bazan, the oper- plant down, along with its storage depot in
ator of a 197,000 barrel per day (bpd) refinery nearby Kiryat Chaim, within 10 years. Environ-
in Haifa, as Prime Minister Yair Lapid gave his ment Minister Tamar Zandberg has pressed the
approval to the deal on September 6. government to keep this commitment, as have
Lapid’s authorisation had been the last step local environmental organisations and Alon
standing in the way of the proposed takeover. Tal, a legislator from the Blue and White Party,
Crude oil refining is classified as an essential which is part of Lapid’s coalition.
industry in Israel, and as such the deal required Even so, the owners of Israel Petrochemi-
the approval of the full government. cal Enterprises – David Federman, Adi Feder-
Israel’s Finance and Energy Ministries had man, Jacob Gottenstein and Alex Passal – said
already given a green light to the sale on Sep- in a stock exchange notice that they intended
tember 5. to co-operate with the government’s plans for
According to press reports, the prime minis- rehabilitating and developing the Haifa Bay
ter’s authorisation did not make the sale condi- area. This includes working with all relevant
tional upon the closure of the Bazan plant within state agencies to form a team that will negotiate
a decade. the closure of the Bazan plant, as well as com-
Members of Lapid’s cabinet had voted pensation for the closure, they wrote.

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