The start-up date of Kuwait's al-Zour oil refinery is expected to be pushed beyond early 2019 as state refiner Kuwait National Petroleum Co (KNPC) is seeking additional funds to finance the giant plant, a KNPC spokesman told Reuters on Monday.

High construction costs forced KNPC to ask for additional funds from the government, a statement from the company said.

The 615,000 barrel per day oil refinery, originally planned more than a decade ago, would be the biggest in the Middle East, but the project has been repeatedly delayed by bureaucratic and political issues, including tensions between Kuwait's parliament and the cabinet. Officials had previously said start-up would occur by late 2018 or early 2019.

"Yes,” Khalid al-Asousi told Reuters by telephone when asked if the refinery was expected to be delayed beyond early 2019.

“We are seeking additional funds to start awarding. We are already two months behind and we don't know when we will get the funds."

Source: www.reuters.com

Please leave comments and feedback below