The Kuwait National Petroleum Company is the national oil refining company of Kuwait

Kuwait

The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...

. Established in October 1960, KNPC handles the responsibility of oil refining, gas liquefaction, and distribution of petroleum goods within the local market.

History

Established in October 1960 as a share-holding company owned by the Kuwait government and private sector, KNPC became fully government-owned in 1975. Since 1968 the company had been exporting petroleum products from its Shuaiba Refinery. In 1980, following the restructuring of the oil sector in Kuwait, KNPC was placed under the newly-created Kuwait Petroleum Corporation

Kuwait Petroleum Corporation

Kuwait Petroleum Corporation is Kuwait's national oil company, headquartered in Kuwait City. It was founded on January 27, 1980 as an umbrella company, integrating KOC, KNPC, KOTC and PIC and effectively placing them under government control....

 (KPC), which was also government owned. Under this position, KNPC took control of distributing petroleum products within Kuwait, along with the ownership of the Mina Ahmadi and Mina Abdullah refineries.

Refineries

• Mina Abdullah refinery: Built in 1958 by the American Independent Oil Company, Mina Abdullah was passed to the Kuwaiti state in 1975 and transferred to KNPC in 1978. Spanning 7,835,000 m², and located 46 km south of Kuwait City
  Kuwait City
  -Suburbs:Although the districts below are not usually recognized as suburbs, the following is a list of a few areas surrounding Kuwait city:Al-Salam ""السلام"" -Economy:...
  
  , Mina Abdullah is capable of refining 270000 oilbbl/d (BPD).

• Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery: Initially built in 1949, the refinery was handed over to KNPC in 1980. Spanning 10,534,000 m², it is located 45 km south of Kuwait City
  Kuwait City
  -Suburbs:Although the districts below are not usually recognized as suburbs, the following is a list of a few areas surrounding Kuwait city:Al-Salam ""السلام"" -Economy:...
  
   with a production capacity of 465000 oilbbl/d.

• Shuaiba Refinery: Built in 1966, Shuaiba Refinery was the first refinery in the region to be built by a national company. The refinery spans 1,332,000 m² and is located 50 km south of Kuwait City
  Kuwait City
  -Suburbs:Although the districts below are not usually recognized as suburbs, the following is a list of a few areas surrounding Kuwait city:Al-Salam ""السلام"" -Economy:...
  
   within the Shuaiba Industrial Area. The refinery has a capacity of 195000 oilbbl/d.

• Al Zour Refinery
  Al Zour Refinery
  -History:The Kuwait National Petroleum Company released plans to build the refinery in July 2007. In May 2008, Kuwait National Petroleum Company awarded construction contracts...
  
  : KNPC released plans to build a fourth refinery known as Al-Zour in July 2007. The refinery is expected to have a capacity of 615000 oilbbl/d, making it the largest refinery in the middle east. In May 2008, Kuwait National Petroleum Company awarded the four remaining EPC contracts: Process Package 1 was awarded to the Consortium of JGC Corporation
  JGC Corporation
  JGC Corporation is a global engineering company headquartered in Yokohama, Japan. It is listed at the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The company was founded on 25 October 1928. In 1976, it changed its original name from Japan Gasoline Co. to JGC Corporation...
  
  and GS Engineering & Construction, Process Package 2 was awarded to SK Engineering & Construction, Storage Tanks Package was awarded to Daelim Industrial Company, Marine Works Package was awarded to Hyundai Engineering & Construction, and The Offsites & Utilities package was awarded to Fluor Corporation.

The Contracts have now been revoked and the project being out on hold for lack of transparency in the awarding of the contracts to the companies mentioned above.

External links

• http://www.knpc.com
• [1] http://www.zawya.com/projects/project.cfm/pid220207010112?cc accessed June 7, 2008