Kuwait May Shelve Al-Zour Refinery Plans

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Plans to construct a new 615,000 barrels per day (b/d) refinery at al-Zour in Kuwait may be shelved unless projected costs can be brought down, according to an official of the Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC). This follows an initial bidding round in which companies submitted proposals based on project costs of around US$15bn, compared with the US$6.3bn earmarked by KNPC. Kuwait is now set to launch a second bidding round with tenders based on a cost plus profit margin, which would mean reimbursing companies' expenses as well as providing a fixed profit.