EMEA News
Unclear When Fire-Ravaged Shuaiba Refinery Will Reopen refinery
Authorities say it is unclear when Shuaiba oil refinery in southern Kuwait will resume operations after a fire this week resulted in a total shutdown of operations, the media reports.
The fire began at the facility's heavy oil cracking unit on Monday but was quickly brought under control and no injuries were recorded.
Ahmed Al Jemaz, acting chief executive for state refiner Kuwait National Petroleum Company, said in a statement that "All the refinery's units have been shut down and all employees were evacuated as a precautionary measure."
Unnamed sources told the press that Kuwait export deals would not be affected by the closure due to refined products in storage; but supplies of jet fuel, which the refinery produces, could be disrupted.
Sheikh Talal al-Khaled al-Sabah, spokesperson for Kuwait's oil industry, says terrorism was not to blame for the fire, which is still under investigation.
First opened in 1968, Shuaiba refinery produces around 2 million tonnes of gasoil and another 2 million tonnes of jet fuel, but it is scheduled to be replaced in 2019 by a new 615,000 barrel per day Al-Zour refinery.
In July, Ali Saleh al-Omair, Kuwait's oil minister, encouraged OPEC to maintain its output ceiling on the grounds that demand will increase in the second half of this year compared to the first half.
