Kuwait and Iraq seek cooperation for development

The Kuwaiti oil minister has stated that a joint venture project between Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KOC) and the Chinese company Sinopec could herald a period of fruitful cooperation between the two countries.

The US$ 9 billion project, which is to be built in southern China’s Guangdong province, is perceived as one of the pillars of KOC’s expansion strategy for 2030.

The 300 000 bpd project is among China’s largest joint ventures in the oil sector and will also produce 1 million tpy of ethylene.

Kuwait has a strategy in place to increase its daily output of crude to 4 million bpd by 2020, and the complex is earmarked for completion in 2013.

In other relevant news, a 130 000 bpd crude distillation unit has been shut at Kuwait’s Mina al-Ahmadi refinery for maintenance. The shut down is expected to last approximately one month. The total capacity of the refinery, Kuwait’s largest, is 466 000 bpd.

Elsewhere in the region, Iraq’s oil ministry has claimed that it requires approximately US$ 30 billion for the construction of oil refineries, which would boost the country’s ability to produce fuel from its abundant crude supplies.

The refineries are planned for Kirkuk, Masyan, Ninawa, Nasiriyah and Karbala and the government plans to raise funds for their completion via the auction of oil and gas exploration blocks to bidding companies.

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