Oil & Gas Innovation Summer 2020 Digital | Page 32

NEWS - MENA
Al-Bader: First Crude Shipment to Reach Refinery
August 19
Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) hosted a press conference in
August 3, 2017 to announce the first shipment of crude to the Nghi
Son Refinery and Petrochemicals Complex in Vietnam, in preparation
for the start of operations. Waleed Al-Bader, Deputy Managing
Director for Crude and Derivatives Marketing at KPC, and Ghanim Al-
Otaibi, Deputy Chief Executive Officer for Asia at Kuwait Petroleum
International (KPI) spoke during the press conference.
The shipment carries two million barrels and is expected to reach the
refinery in August 19th, Al-Bader said, adding that an additional two
million barrels are set to be shipped in August 11th.
A shipment carrying four million barrels will be sent to the refinery in
September, he said, adding that six more shipments carrying 12 million
barrels will be sent to Vietnam during the fourth quarter of this year.
The refinery has a processing capacity of around 200,000 barrels of
Kuwaiti crude a day, he noted.
The refinery was established in Nghi Son, which is located around 200
kilometers south of Hanoi, Al-Bader said. It was designed to process
Kuwaiti crude by 100%, with a capacity of up to 200,000 barrels a day.
The project started in July 2013 and was completed in 43 months, he
noted.
The refinery targets improving Kuwait’s oil relations with Vietnam and
other global partners, Al-Otaibi said, adding that the project is one of
the most important oil projects that embody the vision of KPC and
its subsidiaries to reach a leading global position in the downstream
industry and marketing.
The refinery and petrochemical complex project in Vietnam, which is
affiliated with KPI, will realize KPC’s strategic goals and provide a safe
long-term outlet for the Kuwaiti crude, he added.
Meanwhile, Al-Otaibi applauded the role of Kuwaiti young people
working in the project, and their contributions which helped push
progress forward. He indicated that safe operation for all producing
units to achieve maximum capacity and commercial operation as soon
as possible is currently the most prominent challenge, noting that KPC
started retail marketing inside Vietnam with strategic partners through
five stations that were built as part of a retail stations’ network to cover
the local market’s demand. Al-Otaibi said that he is looking forward
for long-term partnerships with other global companies similar to the
Vietnam refinery project.
Notably, a joint company was established as the owner of the refinery
and petrochemical complex project in Vietnam, where KPI owns a
35.1% share, Japan’s Idemitsu Kosan owns a 35.1% share, PetroVietnam
owns a 25.1% share and Japan’s Mitsui owns a 4.7% share. •
Iran Calls for Resumption of Gas Exports to Turkey
In a meeting with his Turkish counterpart Mouloud Chavosh Oglu,
Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs stressed the need to resume Iran’s
gas exports to Turkey, and to repair and rebuild the damaged section of
the gas pipeline.
Mohammad Javad Zarif, who is visiting Turkey at the helm of a
delegation, met with his Turkish counterpart to express solidarity and
support in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic and its aftermath.
He also discussed ways to compensate for the decline in trade between
the two countries over the past four months due to lockdowns caused
by COVID-19.
During the meeting, the Foreign Minister also stressed the need to
resume Iran’s gas exports to Turkey and repair and rebuild the damaged
section of the gas pipeline.
Agreeing to hold the Astana Summit virtually in the coming weeks
and then holding a summit in Tehran at the earliest opportunity, issues
regarding Syria, Yemen, Libya and the fight against terrorism were other
topics discussed by the Foreign Ministers of the Islamic Republic of Iran
and Turkey in two rounds of talks. •
Updates on Oil Spills South of Kuwait’s Territorial
Waters
The official spokesman of the oil sector Sheikh Talal Al-Khalid Al-
Sabah gave an update on the latest developments regarding the oil
spills south of Kuwait’s territorial waters. Kuwait Oil Company’s (KOC)
and Kuwait National Petroleum Company’s (KNPC) emergency teams
are currently working on containing the spills in coordination with
Kuwait Gulf Oil Company (KGOC), Petroleum Industries Company
(PIC), Ministry of Electricity and Water (MEW) and Environment
Public Authority (EPA), he said. All material available were harnessed,
and efforts were taken to control the oil spills, he indicated, adding that
Saudi Arabian Chevron provides assistance to emergency teams, while
Oil Spill Response Limited (OSRL) were called to provide consultancy
regarding plans to handle the spills.
An emergency team comprising members from the oil sector and the
Ministry of Electricity and Water, supported by the Interior Ministry,
carry out periodic air surveys to follow up and assess the oil spills’ status.
The team is currently focusing on cordoning the area and securing
seawater entrances for the north and south Zoor plants, while beaches
will be cleaned after MEW plants are secured and making sure that the
seawaters are not contaminated with other spills. Meanwhile, oil spills
near the coastline are being removed, while coordination is ongoing
with the relevant departments to identify the source of the spills. •
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