The Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) ( ar, شركة البترول الوطنية الكويتية) is the national oil refining company of
Kuwait
Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
. Established in October 1960, KNPC handles the responsibility of oil refining,
gas liquefaction
Liquefaction of gases is physical conversion of a gas into a liquid state (condensation). The liquefaction of gases is a complicated process that uses various compressions and expansions to achieve high pressures and very low temperatures, using, ...
, and distribution of petroleum goods within the local market. KNPC is also handling CFP (Clean Fuel project).
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 April 2017 Kuwait closed the Shuaiba refinery, which was one of the oldest oil facilities in the region. In 1980, following the restructuring of the oil sector in Kuwait, KNPC was placed under the newly created Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (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 ( ar, مدينة الكويت) is the capital and largest city of Kuwait. Located at the heart of the country on the south shore of Kuwait Bay on the Persian Gulf, it is the political, cultural and economical centre of the emirate, ...
, Mina Abdullah is capable of refining (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 40 km south of
Kuwait City
Kuwait City ( ar, مدينة الكويت) is the capital and largest city of Kuwait. Located at the heart of the country on the south shore of Kuwait Bay on the Persian Gulf, it is the political, cultural and economical centre of the emirate, ...
with a production capacity of . In 2014 KNPC started the production of
ultra-low-sulfur diesel
Ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD) is diesel fuel with substantially lowered sulfur content. Since 2006, almost all of the petroleum-based diesel fuel available in Europe and North America has been of a ULSD type.
The move to lower sulfur content allo ...
(ULSD) at Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery.
* Shuaiba Refinery: Built in 1966, Shuaiba Refinery was the first refinery in the region to be built by a national company. The refinery spanned 1,332,000 m² and was located 50 km south of
Kuwait City
Kuwait City ( ar, مدينة الكويت) is the capital and largest city of Kuwait. Located at the heart of the country on the south shore of Kuwait Bay on the Persian Gulf, it is the political, cultural and economical centre of the emirate, ...
within the Shuaiba Industrial Area. The refinery had a capacity of . In March 2017 the refinery was shut down in order that its facilities could be repurposed for the country's Clean Fuels Project (CFP).
* Al Zour Refinery: KNPC released plans to build a fourth refinery known as Al-Zour in 2006. In 2012 the plans were revamped because of the re-approval by the Supreme Petroleum Council of Kuwait. The refinery is expected to have a capacity of , 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 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.
Recruitment
KNPC provides scholarships and training and sponsors refinery operation specialization at the College of Technological Studies of
The Public Authority for Applied Education and Training
The Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET) ( ar, الهيئة العامة للتعليم التطبيقي والتدريب) is an academic institute in Kuwait, it is considered one of the largest institutes in the Middle East ...