Kuwait Petroleum Corporation News

Kuwait Oil Tanker Company (KOTC) said that it received the giant liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker, Umm Ruwaisat, as part of a major fleet overhaul.Accoding to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), KOTC has entered the fourth phase of its fleet overhaul, which entails the delivery of eight carriers, three of which are gas tankers built by South Korean ship building firm Hyundai MIPO.The fourth phase of the fleet development includes the delivery of eight tankers of which three are giant LNG tankers built by Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries Co, in addition to four medium-term oil products tankers and a huge crude oil tanker currently being built in a Chinese firm.

The world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) producer Qatargas has signed a new, long-term LNG sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with Shell to deliver 1 million tons per annum of LNG to Kuwait, commencing this year.Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs said, “We are pleased to announce this new long term agreement between Qatargas and Shell for the supply of LNG to the State of Kuwait, following the recent agreement signed between Qatar Petroleum and Kuwait Petroleum Corporation. These agreements demonstrate our commitment to the State of Kuwait, which is a very important LNG market and is part of our strive to be the LNG supplier of choice for our customers."Al-Kaabi said: "I would like to take this opportunity to thank our valued partner…

State-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corp signed a 15-year agreement with Qatar Petroleum to import three million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) each year starting from 2022.The agreement was signed by Dr. Khaled A. Al-Fadhel, the Minister of Oil and the Minister of Electricity & Water, the Chairman of the Board of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation and His Excellency Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the President and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, during a special ceremony held in Kuwait City.Under the 15-year agreement, LNG deliveries to Kuwait’s new world-class LNG receiving terminal at Al-Zour Port will commence in 2022 to support meeting Kuwait’s growing energy needs and demand…

Dubai-based subsidiary of Lukoil, Lukoil Marine Lubricants has reached a renewal agreement with Kuwait Oil Tanker Company (KOTC), a unit of of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), for the supply of marine lubricants.For the past three years, Lukoil has supplied KOTC’s full fleet of tanker vessels with its specialized product of marine lubricants. The new deal between the two companies will help to build upon the existing foundation of an already solid business working relationship.As per the contract terms, Lukoil will supply KOTC’s 24-strong fleet consisting of Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC’s), Product Carriers, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Carriers…

Kuwait Oil Tanker Co. (KOTC), a subsidiary of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, has ordered three giant liquefied petroleum gas tankers (LPG) from Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), the South Korean shipbuilding giant.According to the government's media outlet Kuwait New Agency (KUNA), the order for very large gas carrier (VLGC) is worth KD 64.8 million (around USD 213.3 million).KUNA quoted CEO of KOTC Sheikh Talal Al-Khaled Al-Sabah as saying that the VLGC-LPG gas tankers are part of a tanker-building contract signed with HHI, which includes the building and delivery of three giant gas carriers.Each tanker can carry around 84,000 cubic meters…

Russia-based energy company Gazprom has negotiated about supplies of liquefied natural gas (LNG)  to Kuwait, reports Tass. The talks continue in "a rather progressive mood,"during the the Energy Minister Alexander Novak’s visit to the Middle East country, the report said. However, it is too early yet to speak about finalizing them. Though Kuwait is satisfied with LNG supplies from Qatar, the parties continued the discussion on a long-term contract. Kuwait is building a new LNG terminal, which should be ready by 2020. Two years ago, Gazprom signed a memorandum of understanding to co-operate in LNG with Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC), part of a wider deal between the two countries to forge closer ties in investment, technical and research matters.

Asian spot prices for liquefied natural gas (LNG) extended their fall this week on slack demand, although production issues in Australia helped stem losses. LNG for May delivery in Asia traded at around $4.20 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), compared with $4.30 per mmBtu last week. LNG for June delivery was lower at around $4.00 per mmBtu. Mechanical problems at Australia's Gorgon LNG export terminal are expected to halt production for 30 to 60 days, a development which traders said had helped stop prices sliding further this week. "The impact is that the market hasn't come down quicker," a trader said. On the shipping side, however, it had contributed to a glut in tankers.

Qatargas and Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) have signed a deal to supply half a million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Kuwait over the next four years, according to a report. The LNG will be sourced from Qatargas 2, a joint venture among Qatar Petroleum, ExxonMobil and Total which started production in 2009, and will be delivered onboard Q-Flex LNG Vessels, chartered by Qatargas, to KPC’s Mina al-Ahmadi LNG receiving terminal in Kuwait. Qatargas has supplied Kuwait with most of its LNG requirements for the last five years, through direct sales to KPC and through third parties that have deals with Qatargas and with KPC. Elsewhere in the Middle East, Qatargas has supplied LNG to Dubai since 2008 and delivered a commissioning cargo to Jordan in May last year.

Kuwait plans to increase the volume of crude oil exports to China to 500,000 barrels a day (bpd) in three years, an executive at the state-run Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) said Saturday. On Monday, Kuwait concluded a new 10-year deal with a China's Sinopec Corp to nearly double its supplies by offering to ship the oil and sell it on a more competitive cost-and-freight basis. "With new and mutual cooperation between the two parties, there is a good sign of increasing the volume of our crude oil exports to China up to 500,000 bpd in the next three years," Nasser Al-Mudhaf, KPC's Managing Director of International Marketing told Kuwait's News Agency (KUNA).

Kuwait has signed a contract to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) from fellow Gulf state Qatar to help meet its energy needs to the end of 2014, state news agency KUNA reported on Sunday. The first shipment of LNG will arrive in Kuwait on Monday under the contract between Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) and state-owned Qatargas, KUNA said. There were no further details on the terms of the deal with Qatar, which is the world's largest LNG exporter. Rising air conditioning demand in the hot Middle Eastern summer and a lack of domestic supply means OPEC member Kuwait needs to import more gas each year to run its power plants. The contract paves the way for greater cooperation between the two companies, KUNA quoted a KPC official as saying.

Kuwait has increased its oil production capacity to 3.3 million barrels of oil a day (bpd) and is hoping to reach 3.5 million bpd in 2015, the head of its state oil company said on Monday. Kuwaiti officials have previously said that capacity in the OPEC member state was around 3.1-3.2 million bpd. "Kuwait has increased its production capacity to 3.3 million barrels per day. It will reach 3.5 million barrels per day by 2015," Kuwait Petroleum Corporation Chief Executive Nizar al-Adsani told an oil conference. Kuwait still hopes to reach 4 million bpd of capacity in 2020, despite slow progress in developing new projects. But Adsani said the Gulf Arab state needed more help from abroad to achieve that long-term target.

Alan Olivier was elected Chairman and President of the UK P&I Club at their board meeting in Bermuda on October 28. He succeeds Dino Caroussis who has retired from the board. Mr. Olivier, 53, Chief Executive Officer of Grindrod Limited, became a Director of the UK Club in 2000 and a Deputy Chairman in 2006. Mr. Caroussis, 61, of Chios Navigation, had been the Club’s Chairman for the past five years, having joined the board in 1996 in the shipping division. He held senior treasury and financial positions before his appointment as chief executive of Unicorn Shipping in 1995.

Grandweld Shipyards has signed a contract with Kuwait Oil Company to design and build a series of four crane/workboat class vessels. The contract is valued at a total of USD $50 million over the duration of the build. Grandweld’s crane/workboats are designed and built in-house to meet the specific needs of KOC's requirements; these state of the art vessels are designed to undertake tasks such as lifting and moving heavy equipment, oil pollution control, SBM hose handling, FO/FW supply, and other related duties. Each vessel comes with a crane capable of lifting 20 tons at 10 meters radius.

Wärtsilä's RT-flex common rail engine technology provides environmental benefits including low fuel consumption and reductions in exhaust emissions. The engine waste heat is utilized to produce onboard electricity. These features help maintaining and operating seaborne transportation in more economical and sustainable ways. Wärtsilä will supply the main engines for a series of vessels being built for Kuwait Oil Tanker Co. (KOTC), a Subsidiary of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation. Four VLCCs (Very Large Crude Oil Carriers), one Aframax tanker and four medium-range tankers are being built at the Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) shipyard in South Korea.

Wilhelmsen Ships Service (WSS) Kuwait has recently won a major contract to provide support to the Kuwait Oil Tanker Company (KOTC). KOTC is a subsidiary of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), which is the holding company integrating KOC, KNPC, KOTC and PIC under government control. It currently owns and operates 25 vessels which include crude, product, LPG and bunker carriers. Since KPC was established in 1980, KOTC assumed responsibility for transportation of its cargos between Europe, West Africa and Far East with Kuwait being the home port. The UAE ports of Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah are the major husbandry ports for KOTC and apart from spares delivery; their vessels perform repairs, crew change, take provisions and provide Cash to Master.

According to a report from Reuters, Kuwait Oil Tanker Company, a subsidiary of state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), said in published remarks on Sunday that an oil tanker freed by Somali pirates is not Kuwaiti-owned.   Source: Reuters

The course of corporate consolidation within the already tight offshore business took a dramatic turn over the holiday weekend, as Global Marine Inc. and Santa Fe International Corporation entered into a definitive agreement to merge in a stock-for-stock transaction that will create the world's second largest offshore drilling contractor. The new company, which will be named GlobalSantaFe Corporation, will be headquartered in Houston and will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "GSF". Based on Santa Fe's closing stock price on Friday, August 31, GlobalSantaFe would have a market value of approximately $6 billion.