Several refineries operate in Kuwait:
- Mina al-Ahmadi with a capacity of 23.2 million tons per year
- Mina Abdullah, with a capacity of 13.4 million tons per year
- Shuaiba with a capacity of 10 million tons per year.
- Kuwait’s refinery is managed by the Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC), a subsidiary of KPC.
In 2011, Kuwait’s Supreme Petroleum Council approved the Clean Fuel project for the modernization of existing refineries and the Al Zour project, which provides for the construction of a new refinery with a capacity of 30.8 million tons per year. In the framework of the Clean Fuel project, the modernization of the Mina Abdullah and Mina al-Ahmadi plants and the decommissioning of the Shuaiba refinery are planned. The capacity of the Mina al-Ahmadi refinery is planned to be reduced to 17.2 million tons, while the capacity of the Mina Abdullah refinery, on the contrary, will increase to 22.6 million tons per year.
Statistics on Mina Abdullah and other deposits in Kuwait
In 2010, the production of petroleum products in Kuwait amounted to 48.8 million tons, which is 9.7% higher than in 2009. The structure of production of petroleum products was dominated by diesel fuel (12.1 million tons or 24.9%), fuel oil (10.2 million tons or 20.9%), and aviation kerosene (9.1 million tons or 18.6%).
In 2010, 83.8% of Kuwait’s oil was exported to the Asian-Pacific region. Deliveries were also made to North America (8.9%), Europe (4.3%) and Africa (3%). The main export oil terminal of Kuwait is Mina al Ahmadi. Deliveries are also made from the terminals of Mina Abdullah, Mina-Saud (Al-Zur) and Mina-ash-Shuaiba.
In 2011, it delivered 90.4 million tons of oil to external markets (+27.0% by 2010). The so-called “Kuwaiti export” mixture of oils has a density of 31.4‰ API and a sulfur content of 2.5%. The direction of supply remains the same.
The export of Kuwaiti oil is mainly based on fixed-term contracts, the price formula of which is tied to Arabian Medium (for Europe and North America) and Dubai and Oman varieties (for supplies to the APR countries).
The total installed capacity of Kuwait’s refinery for primary oil refining at the beginning of 2011 was 46.6 million tons.