Kuwait's state-run Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) has purchased some refined petroleum products from "brotherly" countries to strengthen its
strategic reserves following the deadly explosion in its largest refinery in
Al-Ahmadi.
The company procured 100,000 tons of fuel oil and 75,000 tons of petrol as a
precaution and to boost the nation's strategic reserves.
Al-Ahmadi refinery was severely damaged in the explosion. Kuwaiti Oil Minister Sheikh Saud Nasser al-Sabah remarked that the necessary repairs would cost approximately $330 million. An independent expert recommended the construction of a new refinery rather than repairing Al-Ahmadi, which uses out-dated technology.
Kuwait recently resumed crude oil exports from a terminal adjacent to
Al-Ahmadi refinery, but exports of refined products from the refinery are
not expected to recommence for several weeks.
Kuwait, which typically boasts a production capacity of over 2.4 million
barrels per day (bpd), faces increased pressure to meet the new OPEC quota
from 1.98 million to 2.037 million bpd starting on July 1.
Al-Ahmadi refinery has a capacity of 450,000 bpd, constituting half of
Kuwait's refined oil exports. According to an initial assessment, an oil
distillation unit with a capacity of 122,000 bpd was extensively damaged and
another with 120,000 bpd capacity suffered medium damage in the explosion
caused by a gas leak.
Founded in 1980 as an umbrella organization to manage the state of Kuwait's
rapidly diversifying oil interests, KPC has in less than two decades
established itself as a truly international entity, respected by governments
and business institutions worldwide as the ambassador of Kuwait's oil
industry. KPC contributed to Kuwait's recovery from the dire state faced by
Kuwait's oil industry following the Iraqi invasion in 1990.
© 2000 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
