News
& Events

The Ministry of Oil holds a panel discussion entitled (Environmental Fuel Project and its Last Stages of Development)

28-09-2021

​The head of the project control team at the National Petroleum Company, Eng. Yasmine Mubarak Al-Mutawa, said that the environmental fuel project contributes to achieving the strategic direction of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation by reaching the refining of 1.6 million barrels in 2025 at the highest transformational level by maximizing the discharge of heavy Kuwaiti oils in the KPC refineries and meeting local needs. of energy. During a seminar organized by the Public Relations and Information Department at the Ministry of Oil, Al-Mutawa said that the most important objectives of the project are to provide the needs of the local market and global markets for petroleum products that are environmentally compatible with international standards. She added that the project aims to expand the Ahmadi and Mina Abdullah refineries in terms of converting fuel oil with high sulfur content into high-quality petroleum products "with low sulfur content" with achieving an optimal return on investment, and achieving optimal use of the facilities of the Shuaiba refinery after its closure, such as tanks and marine export facilities, in addition to creating New job opportunities for national labor and the development of the company's refineries to become an integrated refining complex to meet the needs of different markets. She stressed that the environmental fuel project will improve the environmental performance of Kuwaiti refineries and raise the levels of safety and operational reliability while maintaining the optimal use of energy, increasing the reliability and efficiency of equipment for refineries, and promoting and encouraging local economic development. work area For his part, Head of Operations Department at Al-Ahmadi Refinery, Engineer Fahd Falah Al-Ajmi, said that the scope of the project’s work is in two parts. The first is to build 76 units, including 39 major new units characterized by the latest specifications and technology, and 37 units for services and facilities. Unit for services and facilities. Al-Ajmi said that the total refining capacity will reach 800,000 barrels per day for the Ahmadi and Mina Abdullah refineries through the implementation of the environmental fuel project, with 454,000 barrels for the Mina Abdullah refinery and 346 thousand barrels for the Ahmadi refinery. Al-Ajmi indicated that the cost of the project amounted to 4.680 billion dinars, and the total expenditure until August 2021 amounted to 4.518 billion dinars, adding that the local content of the project amounted to 23.4 percent. Regarding the materials used in the project, Al-Ajmi said 482,000 cubic meters of concrete were used, equivalent to the size of 200 Olympic pools, 124,000 tons of iron, equivalent to 17 Eiffel towers, and 3 million meters of pipes, which equals the distance between Kuwait to Budapest, and 11.5 A kilometer of cables is equivalent to a round-trip distance from Kuwait to Bangkok. Al-Ajmi said that the advantages of the project are the establishment of the largest production capacity in the world for hydrogen in one place in the world, with a capacity of 555 million standard cubic feet per day. The project contains systems that limit emissions of nitrogen oxides and sulfur. He added that the environmental fuel project uses the closed cooling system in manufacturing operations to protect the environment, and a unit has been established to treat solid oil waste and convert it into environmentally friendly materials, the first in Kuwait. It also contains the largest hydrogen compressors in the world, in addition to establishing two units to reduce the proportion of aromatic compounds in car fuel for the first time in Kuwait. With regard to the scope of work, Al-Ajmi said that 5 existing units were modernized and developed, and other works for two units were made to raise the production capacity, bringing the total to 7 units, improving specifications, and building and operating 34 refining units, including 17 new units and 17 units for services and utilities. Al-Ajmi added that 2,375 points were connected between the environmental fuel project with the Al-Ahmadi refinery, and as for the buildings, 48 ​​control centers, workshops, a laboratory, and buildings for field and maintenance operators were established, among others. Al-Ajmi pointed out that the operation of the first production units began in December 2019 and the operation of the last unit was completed in April 2020. The refinery control center was completed in July 2021 and was built with the latest systems and specifications, and it can accommodate about 170 employees, and it is one of the largest refinery control centers in the Middle East. Al-Ajmi said that low-sulfur diesel was produced and exported in December 2019, and the first commercial shipment of petroleum coal was produced and exported in May 2020, and new maintenance workshops were built to carry out all maintenance work for the refinery equipment. Challenges On the challenges that the project faced, the Head of Operations Planning Department at Mina Abdullah Refinery, Eng. Abdel Nasser Elias, confirmed that the massive workforce, which reached the peak time to 54.4 thousand workers and employees of all nationalities and cultures, was the most prominent challenge, as a healthy and safe living environment was provided for them, and this workforce was gradually reduced. With the project nearing completion. He added, among the challenges, are the operations of linking the environmental fuel project with the existing refinery units, and we succeeded in linking operations without closing the old refinery, and it was not affected by the construction and continued to operate normally. Elias considered one of the challenges of the unprecedented rains that Kuwait experienced in 2018, as the project sites that were under construction were damaged. An integrated plan was drawn up to rebuild these areas from these sites and a plan was developed to avoid their recurrence. Among the most prominent challenges, Elias said, were the efforts of the National Petroleum to confront Corona, especially in the final stages of the project for a large number of major units. The final operation of the new units due to Corona. Regarding the scope of work in the Mina Abdullah Refinery, Elias said 23 units were modernized and developed, including 2 to raise production capacity, provide new values, improve specifications and other works for 21 other units, and 42 refining units were built and operated, including 22 new units, in addition to 20 units for services and facilities, and 1788 operations were conducted. A link between the environmental fuel project and the refinery, and the construction of 88 buildings for a control center, workshops, a laboratory, sub-buildings for field and maintenance operators, sub-control buildings, and main and subsidiary electrical transformers. Elias said that the operation of the first production units was in November 2020, and the last unit in the project was commissioned on September 21, 2021, to complete the project's work. Regarding the specifications of the products, Elias explained that the products will open new markets after conforming to international standards with low sulfur levels, which will maximize the added value of the oil barrel. For her part, Director of Public Relations and Information at the Ministry of Oil Sheikha Tamader Khaled Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah said that the environmental fuel project is in line with the general strategic vision of the State of Kuwait to reach a leading position in the world in the oil and gas refining and marketing sector and excellence at the highest levels of performance, as this project is one of the most important initiatives The strategy of the Kuwait National Petroleum Company to provide the petroleum products necessary to meet the local needs for energy and the needs of global markets, in accordance with the required quantities and specifications. Sheikha Tamader Khaled Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah stated in her intervention during the virtual seminar that the environmental fuel project will enable Kuwait to penetrate major markets such as Europe and Asia with high-quality products and specifications compatible with the most stringent international specifications in terms of the environment. She pointed out that the Ministry of Oil is keen to shed light on the major oil projects implemented by Kuwait by hosting officials in associated oil companies to talk about those projects. She commended the continuous and permanent coordination between the Ministry of Oil and all oil companies in organizing seminars to review the most important projects implemented by Kuwait to develop the oil industry within the oil sector strategy for 2040.