Mina Abdullah Refinery
Mina Abdullah Refinery (MAB) was built in 1958 by the American Independent Oil Company (AMINOIL) before it was fully acquired by the State of Kuwait in 1977. It was renamed “Kuwait Wafra Oil Company” as a national company before the transfer to KNPC in 1978. It possessed back then merely one Refining Unit with 30,000 bpd capacity. MAB has undergone expansion projects, which resulted in increased capacity of 145,000 bpd, then a modernization project in 1988 (MAB RMP) boosted the refining conversion capabilities and its capacity to 240,000 bpd. The 15 new Units utilized the most advanced technologies at that time to produce low Sulfur and high value light petroleum products. Today, MAB's refining capacity stands at 454,000 barrels per day (bpd), supported by 42 new and 2 upgraded units.
Key Facts
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Production capacity 454,000 bpd of crude oil
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Located 53 km South Kuwait, directly on the Gulf coast.
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Designed to refine high-sulfur heavy crude oil
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27 process units and 85 storage tanks.
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Environment-friendly facilities for tail gas, oil sludge & wastewater treatment to achieve sustained environmental compliance.
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MAB flare recovery unit is the 2nd plant in Kuwait to be registered in UN’s Clean Development Mechanism.
Major Milestones
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1958
Built in 1958.
Starting production at 30,000 bpd
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1963
In 1963, production capacity increased to 145,000 bpd
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1978
After nationalization, MAB became part of KNPC in 1978
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1984
Underwent Refinery Modernization Project (RMP).
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1986
Further Upgrading Project (FUP) to increase refining capacity and conversion capabilities to produce high-quality products. Acid Gas Recovery units, Atmospheric Residue Desulfurization unit, Delayed Coker unit, HCR and many other additional units were added.
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2009
Upgrading the 2 Atmospheric Residue Desulfurization Units & increasing production capacity to 84,000 bpd
Main Units
The Units receive Crude Oil from KOC then fractions it into Gas, Naphtha, Kerosene, Diesel and HSFO.
With 40,000 bpd, the Unit converts the bottom of the barrel residue into higher value products.
Processes 85,000 bpd of high Sulfur atmospheric residue. It reduces Sulfur content to 0.7%, demetallizes and removes Nitrogen compounds from the Crude Unit. The process helps in upgrading the bottom of barrel.
The Unit converts Gas Oil into LPG, Naphtha and Kerosene which meet stringent quality requirements. Capacity 42,500 bpd.
Offshore Facilities
MAB uses the Sea Island as export facilities; located 5 km offshore. It has two piers, one for loading giant oil tankers up to 276,000 tons and another for 140,000 tons. Each pier has 4 arms for loading light products.
Products
MAB produces all kinds of Petroleum by-products of Naphtha, Kerosene, Low-Sulfur Gas-Oil, Coke, Fuel Oil and Sulfur.