Robert Brelsford
Downstream Technology Editor
Kuwait Petroleum Corp. (KPC) subsidiary Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Co. (KIPIC), through Honeywell UOP LLC, has let a contract to a division of E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. to license technologies for units at KIPIC’s grassroots 615,000-b/d Al-Zour integrated refining and petrochemical complex under construction in southern Kuwait (OGJ Online, June 21, 2018).
As part of the contract, DuPont Clean Technologies will supply its proprietary technology licensing and design for a 9,100-b/sd STRATCO alkylation unit as well as a 70-tonne/day MECS advanced sulfuric acid gegeneration (SAR) unit, both of which will enable the refinery to fulfill its ambitious targets for desulfurization and reduced emissions, DuPont said.
The STRATCO alkylation unit will feature Dupont’s Contactor XP2 technology in the STRATCO Contactor reactors, a patented reactor enhancement that maximizes use of the tube-bundle heat transfer area to ensure the highest-quality alkylate product from methyl tertiary butyl ether raffinate feedstock, the service provider said.
KPC subsidiary KIPIC, through Honeywell UOP, let a contract to a division of E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. to license technologies for units at KIPIC’s grassroots 615,000-b/d Al-Zour integrated refining and petrochemical complex under construction in southern Kuwait. Photo from KIPIC.
While DuPont did not reveal a value of the contract, the technology provider did confirm the project is scheduled for startup in second-quarter 2022.
Kuwait previously engaged Honeywell UOP to provide a range of process technologies for an already proposed expansion of KIPIC’s Al-Zour integrated complex (OGJ Online, Nov. 27, 2017).
KIPIC most recently let a contract to to SNC-Lavalin Group Inc., Montreal, to provide a suite of services related to startup of the Al-Zour project after confirming earlier this year that all five packages of the integrated complex are proceeding in line with the original schedule, with all packages due to be completed by yearend 2019 and first-phase refining units still on track for startup in May 2019 (OGJ Online, July 25, 2018; Jan. 22, 2018).
The petrochemical portion of the complex—which will have the capacity to produce 2.761 million tonnes/year of aromatics and polypropylene—will complete front-end engineering design by January 2019, with engineering, procurement, and construction phases on this leg of the project scheduled to be completed in July 2023 for targeted commissioning in February 2024, KIPIC said on its web site.
Alongside its production of petrochemicals, the Al-Zour refining complex—which will have the largest refining capacity in the Middle East—will produce low-sulfur fuel oil to replace high-sulfur fuel oil that is presently used in local power generation plants, as well as ultra-low sulfur diesel, kerosine, petrochemical naphtha, granulated sulfur, and LPG.
KPC formed KIPIC in late 2016 to manage refinery, petrochemicals, and LNG import operations in the Al-Zour complex. Also charged with securing Kuwait’s local demand for energy and contributing to growth of the private sector, KIPIC is Kuwait’s first integrated downstream company as well as the KPC arm responsible for achieving integration between the refining and petrochemical industries under Kuwait’s 2030 strategy to enhance growth in its refining and manufacturing sectors (OGJ Online, Nov. 28, 2017).
