Van Oord has been awarded a land reclamation project in Kuwait. The client is the Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC).

The contract value amounts to approximately EUR 500 million.

The project involves the reclamation of land in a ‘sabkha area’ (a salt plain near the coast) for the construction of a new refinery. The New Refinery Project is situated in the Al-Zour area south of Kuwait City. The refinery will produce 615,000 barrels a day. The project is the first phase of KNPC’s USD 23 billion investment programme for this new refinery.

‘The Middle East has been very important to Van Oord for decades. We are pleased to continue working and strengthening our position in the area with this contract’, says CEO Pieter van Oord.

Work on the project will begin immediately, with completion to take 30 months. The project involves dredging and reclaiming some 65 million cubic metres of sand and executing extensive ground improvement. The project will also include constructing various channels, a basin for a future jetty, a barge dock and roads. Van Oord will deploy large trailing suction hopper dredgers and cutter suction dredgers.

About Van Oord

Van Oord operates around the world as a leading contractor for dredging, marine engineering and offshore energy projects (oil, gas and wind), offering innovative solutions to marine challenges. The company operates worldwide in more than fifty countries.

See the site of Al-Zour refinery