Kuwait exports first shipment of jet fuel from new Al-Zour refinery

Kuwait Petroleum Corp. exported its first shipment of aviation jet fuel from the country’s newly commissioned Al-Zour mega-refinery.

The first cargo is currently being shipped aboard the Pacific Sarah tanker, KPC said in a statement on Sunday. The company and its subsidiaries are “continuously working to meet the rising demand of the global market for clean fuels in line with environmental regulations,” KPC said.

Kuwait said earlier this month it had started commercial operations of the first phase of the Al-Zour refinery, after the production and sale of fuel oil in October to supply local power stations. The second and third phases of the refinery will follow, until full capacity of 615,000 barrels is reached early next year. Once the facility on Kuwait’s coast is working fully, it will boost the OPEC member’s refining capacity to about 1.5 million barrels a day.

Comprising three mini refineries, Al-Zour is the biggest of several oil-processing facilities being added across the Middle East. The Dangote refinery in Nigeria, slightly bigger at 650,000 barrels a day, is due to start up in 2023.