Kuwait to build Middle East’s largest oil refinery
$14.5bn project comes back online after being shelved for nearly a decade despite political tensions
Kuwait has confirmed it is pressing ahead with plans to build the largest oil refinery in the Middle East,despite political tensions that have stalled many economic development plans.
Originally planned a decade ago, the project is estimated to cost around $14.5bn and aims to provide fuel for power generation and water desalination facilities and export any excess. The project was awarded in 2008 to companies including South Korea’s GS Engineering & Construction and Japan’s JGC Corporation.
However, in 2009, the Cabinet decided to freeze the project on the grounds that oil prices were then too low to finance oil projects. Following a recent government decision to retender the project, five global engineering firms submitted bids for the project management and consultancy (PMC) contract including US-based Foster Wheeler and Fluor Corp, Australia’s WorleyParsons, France’s Technip and British-based Amec.
Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) said the Cabinet is expected to name next month the winner of the Al-Zour refinery’s project management and consultancy (PMC) contract, a senior executive at KNPC was quoted as saying by Reuters.
“The bids have been submitted and now we are in the evaluation phase…I expect the result to be out in August,” the executive said, declining to be named under briefing rules.
