NBK to Advice Kuwait National Petroleum Co on Financing Multi-Billion-Dollar Refineries Upgrade

National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) will advise Kuwait National Petroleum Co (KNPC) on how to finance its Clean Fuels Project, part of the country’s $104.7 billion economic development plan.

The project is designed to upgrade and expand two of the Gulf Arab state's largest existing refineries as its focus shifts towards producing higher-value products like diesel and kerosene for export.

NBK Capital will spend a year evaluating financing requirements for KNPC, with international companies including Britain’s Petrofac, USA’s Fluor Corp and Japan’s JGC Corp winning between them around $12 billion of construction contracts to date.

Reuters reported that Mohammed Ghazi al-Mutairi, chief executive of KNPC, claimed the Clean Fuels Project would be operational by the end of 2018.

Under the project, the capacity of the Mina al-Ahmadi refinery will drop to 347,000 barrels per day (bpd) from 466,000, while Mina Abdulla refinery's capacity will rise to 454,000 bpd from 270,000.

The reduction at Mina al-Ahmadi will be offset by the fact that it will be producing products of a higher value than it is currently.

The Clean Fuels Project is around one of 25 ongoing projects being carried out by KNPC.