Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh visits the world's largest petrochemical complex in Kuwait

Within the framework of the official visit to the State of Kuwait, on the afternoon of November 17 (local time), Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation visited the Al-Zour Petrochemical Refinery Complex.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and delegates at the Al-Zour Petrochemical Refinery Complex. (Photo: THANH GIANG)

Al‑Zour Refinery and Petrochemical Complex is a strategic refinery complex in Kuwait, considered one of the largest and most modern refineries in the Middle East, the second largest in the region and ranked in the top 10 globally in terms of refining capacity.

The complex began preparatory work in 2015, began construction in 2017 and officially went into commercial operation in late 2022. The project has a total investment capital of about 27 billion USD; designed capacity of about 615,000 barrels/day, contributing about 43.5% of Kuwait's domestic oil refining capacity. Kuwait National Petroleum Corporation is currently the unit managing and operating the complex.

Leaders of Al‑Zour Petrochemical Complex warmly welcomed Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the headquarters.
(Photo: THANH GIANG)

Prime Minister Pham Minh shakes hands with the Board of Directors of Al-Zour Petrochemical Complex. (Photo: THANH GIANG)

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh listens to an introduction about the Al-Zour Petrochemical Refinery Complex. (Photo: THANH GIANG)

An area of ​​the Al-Zour Petrochemical Refinery Complex. (Photo: THANH GIANG)

In terms of area, the complex includes a campus of about 16 km² with many main processing units, an artificial island for product storage (about 5.6 million barrels) and an export wharf system.

Al-Zour petrochemical complex. (Photo: THANH GIANG)

The Al-Zour refinery and petrochemical complex is also a symbol of Kuwait's strategic direction in the "Kuwait Vision 2035" program, shifting from solely oil exploitation to comprehensive development of processing systems, enhancing domestic value, while complying with advanced environmental standards.

Kuwait is currently Vietnam's largest trade and investment partner among the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Two-way trade turnover in 2024 is expected to reach 7.3 billion USD.

Leaders of Al-Zour Petrochemical Complex see off Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. (Photo: THANH GIANG)

Oil and gas is one of the notable areas of cooperation between the two countries, in which the Nghi Son petrochemical refinery project ( Thanh Hoa province) has made an important contribution to ensuring energy security, creating jobs for people, changing the face of the locality and contributing greatly to the local budget. This factory is being restructured by relevant parties to operate more effectively.

During this visit, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Kuwaiti leaders discussed and agreed on measures to promote the pillars of energy cooperation, oil and gas cooperation, and expand the operation of the Nghi Son petrochemical refinery project in the spirit of "harmonious benefits and shared risks". In addition, Vietnam is ready to provide oil and gas services and high-quality human resources for projects in Kuwait, and expand cooperation to a number of new projects.

THANH GIANG

Source: https://nhandan.vn/thu-tuong-pham-minh-chinh-tham-to-hop-loc-hoa-dau-lon-hang-dau-the-gioi-tai-kuwait-post923832.html