The $10 billion Al-Zour petrochemicals complex projects will be on delay for a while as Kuwait still undertakes feasibility studies. The Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) chief executive Nawaf Al-Sabah said that the company has not made a final investment decision (FID) for the project. The chief executive also said that the Kuwait government has not yet offered a timeline schedule for when the project will be approved and tendered. “We are still studying the prospects of the project and have not yet taken FID on it,” said Al-Sabah. The project was first announced in 2006 but has never come to form ever since.
The fact that Kuwait Petroleum Corporation is taking more time on the feasibility studies looking at what products the Al-Zour petrochemical complex will produce may have various implications. One of these is the likelihood of exacerbating concerns that a radical overhaul of the project is being considered. That aspect placed in consideration will lead to longer delays before the main contracts are tendered and construction kicks off. In January, US-based engineering company Fluor and South Korea’s SK Engineering and Construction had withdrawn from the bidding process for the project. The client on the project is KPC’s subsidiary Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Company (Kipc).
Al-Zour Petrochemicals Complex Project Will Create an Added Value In Kuwait’s National Resources.
Kuwait’s Investment in the petrochemical sector is prospected to create an added value from its national resources and create an industrial base that would help diversify its economy. In May 2019, KPC’s other subsidiary, state-owned Petrochemicals Industries Company (PIC) set out the country’s long-term petrochemicals strategy. The aim of PIC is to ensure that Kuwait exploits its full potential in the petrochemical sector. The construction of the Al-Zour Petrochemicals Complex will be one step closer to achieve this. The planned petrochemicals complex will be integrated with the Al-Zour refinery which has a capacity of producing 615,000 barrels per day. The refinery is expected to complete commissioning in the near future.
