THE fate of a new $14-billion refinery in Kuwait will be decided after the country holds its parliamentary elections over the coming months.

Oil minister Sheikh Ahmed Al Abdullah Al Sabah said the plan to build the refinery had been “frozen” by the cabinet and the new government would make the final decision on it. No date has been set for the elections, but they are expected in less than two months.
The refinery cancellation comes just months after Kuwait backed out — also under parliamentary pressure — of a $17.4-billion joint venture with US giant Dow Chemical, days before the petrochemical project was set to be launched.
Last month, Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al Mohammed Al Sabah announced the government was halting the construction of the 615,000 barrels-per-day refinery following an investigation by the country’s financial watchdog, the Audit Bureau.
Lawmakers had accused state officials of profiteering from the project because contracts to build it were awarded without going through the central bidding committee. The government denied the accusations.
Kuwait’s Amir dissolved the parliament on March 18, citing abuse of democracy by lawmakers and their stalling of efforts to develop the state.
Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC), which owns and runs the country’s three refineries, said that the cabinet’s decision led to the cancellation of the tender to build the project, and it was up to the government to revive it.
KNPC spokesman Mohammed Al Ajmi said KNPC had informed the companies that had won the tenders of the cancellation. “There were no contracts,” he said.
The project included participation by Japan’s JGC and South Korea’s GS Engineering and Construction Corp.
However, Fluor Corp said that KNPC had cancelled its contract for refinery. Fluor said it had about 300 employees performing engineering work on the project, and would remove the remaining contract value of $2.1 billion from its backlog in the first quarter.