Petrofac Clean Fuels Project for Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) has achieved a further significant milestone, with the safe and successful commissioning of Hydrocracker Unit 214 at Mina Abdullah Refinery.

This is the second largest hydrocracker unit in Kuwait. It is licensed with a feed processing capacity of 50,000 barrels per stream day (BPSD) and will upgrade heavy gas oil fractions into lighter products through a hydro-cracking process using catalyst and hydrogen. This will enable the production of Kuwait’s new generation of ultra-low Sulphur fuel products, including Euro 5 Diesel, Kerosene and Jet Fuel, Naphtha and LPG.

Petrofac is leading a joint venture partnership with Samsung Engineering Co Ltd and CB&I Nederland BV (now McDermott International). As well enabling the production of these new, cleaner fuel products, the project will also increase processing capacity at this key project for Kuwait’s refining industry.

The Clean Fuels Project, Mina Abdullah Refinery has a total of 12 new process units from five licensors, inter-refinery transfer lines and interconnecting pipe rack. Seven of the units, along with associated flares, have now been commissioned, with the Vacuum Rerun (VRU) Unit 213 currently under commissioning and the remaining four units (HCR-114, ARDS-212 and 112 and CCR-127) in advanced stages of pre-commissioning.

This is an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) project on a massive scale. At the peak of activity, more than 15,000 people were working on the Kuwait site. An exemplary safety record has been maintained, with more than 67.2 million work hours without lost-time incident since May 2018.

Prashant Bokil, JV Project Director, said:

"We have progressively continued the commissioning and handover of each unit and the Hydrocracker is another important milestone for this mega project. Thank you to everyone involved, we are focused on safely delivering the remaining work ahead and completing the project to the full satisfaction of our client KNPC."

About Petrofac

Petrofac is a leading international service provider to the oil and gas production and processing industry, with a diverse client portfolio including many of the world’s leading integrated, independent and national oil and gas companies. Petrofac is quoted on the London Stock Exchange (symbol: PFC).

Petrofac designs and builds oil and gas facilities; operates, maintains and manages facilities and trains personnel; enhances production; and, where it can leverage its service capability, develops and co-invests in upstream and infrastructure projects. Petrofac’s range of services meets its clients’ needs across the full life cycle of oil and gas assets.

With around 11,500 employees, Petrofac operates out of seven strategically located operational centres, in Aberdeen, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Woking, Chennai, Mumbai and Kuala Lumpur and has a further 24 offices worldwide.

About KNPC

KNPC owns and operates two refineries, namely Mina Al-Ahmadi (MAA) and Mina Abdullah (MAB).
The two Refineries form an integrated refining complex, which gives the Company a high flexibility in exchanging products either to fulfil the demands of international clients or to maintain a continuous production in times of maintenance or unscheduled shutdowns.