Kuwait closes refinery after explosion and fire
17 August 2015
Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) closed its Shuaiba refinery after an explosion caused a large fire at the site on August 16. Ahmed Al Jemaz, acting chief executive, said in a statement on the company’s Twitter account that the fire at the heavy oil cracking unit had been brought under control.
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“No injuries were recorded so far. All the refinery’s units have been shut down and all employees were evacuated as a precautionary measure,” Al Jemaz said.
It is too early to say when Shuaiba, which has a production capacity of 200,000 barrels per day, would be back to full operations and authorities would investigate the cause of the fire.
The ageing coastal Shuaiba refinery in southern Kuwait, commissioned in 1968, is due to be mothballed after the new 615,000-bpd Al Zour refinery comes on line in 2019.
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