News
& Events

The Duqm Refinery Project...one of the fruits of the close and historical relations between the State of Kuwait and the Sultanate of Oman

05-02-2024

Solid ground and with steady steps, the authentic and deep-rooted relations between the State of Kuwait and the Sultanate of Oman record a new historical chapter represented by the Duqm Refinery Project, which is considered one of the largest oil projects in the region and the world. This joint project reflects the peculiarity of Kuwaiti-Omani relations, which has contributed to its weaving of common features based on unity of purpose, common destiny, and congruence of visions at all levels. The last three decades have witnessed steady growth in bilateral relations between Kuwait and the Sultanate and joint cooperation on regional and global issues, in addition to the agreements and memorandums of understanding linking them in various political, economic, commercial, cultural, tourism, artistic and other fields, in addition to what culminated in mutual visits by the leaders of the two countries. At the top of the giant joint projects that embody the congruence in visions and goals between the State of Kuwait and the Sultanate of Oman is a major oil project that will change the economic face of the region and open the door to major investments, which is the Duqm Refinery Project, which is one of the fruits of the close relations between the two countries and is in line with the strategic directions of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation. In the field of refining outside the country. With regard to strengthening bilateral cooperation, the two countries formed in 2003 the Kuwaiti-Omani Joint Committee, which meets periodically and undertakes a number of tasks, most notably increasing the volume of economic, commercial and tourism exchange and contributing to achieving everyone’s aspirations for progress and prosperity for the two countries and the two brotherly peoples. The committee held nine meetings, the last of which was last March in the Omani capital, Muscat. The work of the ninth session of the joint committee resulted in reaching an agreement on five memorandums of understanding and executive programs in several fields, a memorandum of understanding in the field of diplomatic studies and training, a memorandum of understanding in the field of higher education, and a memorandum of understanding in the field of protecting competition and preventing competition. Monopoly, the Executive Program for Cooperation in the Field of Environmental Protection for the period from 2021 to 2024, and the Executive Program for Cooperation in the Development of Industrial Exports for the period from 2023 to 2025. The number of agreements signed between the two countries before the last meeting reached 27 agreements, from 1974 to 2017, covering various fields. The number of Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development projects also reached 23 projects in the Sultanate, while the volume of investment in the Oman Fixed Income Fund reached approximately eight million Kuwaiti dinars ( About 26.4 million US dollars) while the volume of trade exchange between the two countries, according to the latest official statistics, amounted to more than 105 million dinars (about 346.5 million dollars). An embodiment of these close historical relations comes the visit of His Highness the Emir of the country, Sheikh Meshaal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, may God protect and preserve him, to the Sultanate of Oman tomorrow, Tuesday, on a state visit, during which he will meet with his brother Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, Sultan of Oman, and crown this meeting with their generous patronage and attendance at the opening of the (refinery) project. Duqm and petrochemical industries) are the fruit of the partnership and economic and strategic cooperation between the two brotherly countries, in an official ceremony the day after tomorrow, Wednesday, in the Wilayat of Duqm. This project, the foundation stone of which the two parties laid in April 2018, will transform the Duqm region into one of the most important energy centers in the region and will encourage it to carry out industries related to this field at the local and global levels. The area of ​​the project, which cost approximately $8.5 billion, is estimated at 900 hectares. It is a joint project between the International Integrated Energy Group (OQ) and the Kuwait International Petroleum Company (Q8). It is distinguished by its strategic location overlooking the main maritime transport lines in the Arabian Sea and will have a positive impact on Region. With the start of the refinery's operations, the refining capacity will reach 230,000 barrels per day of Kuwaiti crude oil, and it will work to cover the regional and global daily needs of various energy products, namely diesel and jet fuel, in addition to naphtha and liquefied petroleum gas, and achieve optimal exploitation of the geographical location of the Special Economic Zone in Duqm. Kuwait Petroleum Corporation committed to supplying about 65 percent of the refinery's needs of Kuwaiti crude oil, in line with the Corporation's vision and strategy to provide safe marketing outlets for Kuwaiti oil. The project consists of three main engineering packages: supply, construction, and operation. The first package includes manufacturing and processing units, while the second package includes facilities and services. The third package includes external facilities, including building a port to export products and establishing tanks to store crude oil located in the Ras Markaz area, along with a 90-kilometre pipeline. It almost connects these tanks to the refinery. The design of the refinery is based on a hydrocracking unit and a petroleum coal unit, and it is capable of refining 100 percent Kuwaiti oil. The future vision of the project aims for the Duqm refinery to be world-class, using proven technology and providing high-quality products in accordance with international safety standards, while striving to achieve the highest standards. Employment. The Duqm Refinery project, which bears the brand name (OQ8), has contributed to creating more job opportunities for Kuwaiti and Omani youth and has also become an attractive destination for developing a promising generation of leaders in the oil sector in the two countries. Since the establishment of this partnership between the two countries, the Duqm Economic Zone has witnessed great prosperity, becoming one of the most important industrial cities in the Arabian Gulf region and the world.