Kuwait’s Al Zour refinery reaches nameplate capacity

The giant Al Zour refinery in Kuwait has reached full capacity for the first time, operator Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Company (KIPIC) announced on Sunday.

The facility located in Southern Kuwait reached its full refining capacity of 615,000 bopd following maintenance and repair of two units in January 2024.

The plant is designed to process several types of oil – including Kuwait Heavy Crude – from its three 205,000-bopd crude distillation units

Commercial operations began in November 2022, with the final unit installed in December 2023.

The refinery recently experienced a halt after a fuel gas feed was cut off due to a malfunction of a main valve, the company announced in November 2023.

Al Zour is one of the largest refineries in the Middle East by capacity.

According to energy consultant S&P Global, Kuwait exported around 750,000 bpd of refined products in January 2024.

Kuwait is the fifth largest OPEC oil producers after Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran and the UAE.

Also in Feburary, Oman and Kuwait inaugurated the OQ8 refinery located in Oman’s Duqm Industrial Zone.