Kuwait's Al-Zour terminal receives first LNG cargo
State-owned Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Co (KIPIC) announced on July 12 it had received a first LNG shipment at its Al-Zour regasification terminal, ahead of the start-up of some of the facility's units, according to the government-run KUNA news agency.
The 213,000-m3 shipment was delivered on board a Qatari tanker, and will be followed by a second from Qatar of equal size, KIPIC was cited as saying.
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The terminal will import up to 22mn metric tons/year of LNG at full capacity, helping Kuwait expand the role of gas in its power sector and provide increased supply to the refining and petrochemical industry. It will form part of a larger downstream hub at the port of Al-Zour that will also feature a 615,000 barrel/day oil refinery set to start up in November and a 2.8mn mt/yr petrochemicals complex.
The hub was due to be completed in 2020 but work was delayed as a result of coronavirus restrictions. Several services firms and contractors involved in its development were reported to have tried to invoke force majeure clauses in their contracts, complaining that movement restrictions made it impossible to meet deadlines.
The terminal will have eight storage tanks with a combined capacity of 225,000 m3. In December, Greek gas infrastructure operator DESFA won a five-year contract to operate and maintain the terminal.