Developing refineries, building new one part of Kuwait development project 

(MENAFN - Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) Development of current refineries in Kuwait and establishing a new one are part of the Arab Gulf state's development scheme, and within efforts to offer environmentally friendly products, a Kuwaiti official said here Monday.

Developing the current three refineries and the establishment of a new one "does not only aim at achieving profits and entering new markets, but offering environmentally friendly products and and safeguarding people's health as part of the company's social responsibility," Bakhit Al-Rashidi, Deputy Managing Director of Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC).

He was speaking to KUNA on sidelines of his participation in Middle East Petrotech Conference 2012.

Developing refineries of Kuwait and having them into a single refining complex coupled with the construction of a new refinery will create more than 800 jobs for Kuwaiti citizens, said Al-Rashidi.

State-owned KNPC's projects in the next five years amount to KD 40 billion, he said.

KNPC plans to produce 800,000 barrels per day (bpd) of environmentally friendly fuel, he said.

Al-Rashidi noted that the new refinery that should start operations by 2017 would produce 615,000 bpd. In the following year, he added, the refining complex would be operated to produce environmentally friendly fuel.

On Petrotech, Al-Rashidi said KPNC was a major partner in the conference which deals with refining and petrochemical issues.

The conferees focus on the development economic, technical and labor matters in the oil sector, he said. "The untrained labor who can't handle modern technology might be a hurdle before development and unsuccessful project."