Essar Projects and Italy's Saipem win $ 1.6 bn EPC contract for refinery in Kuwait

Essar Projects, along with its joint venture partner Saipem SpA of Italy, has won a $ 1.57 billion EPC (engineering, procurement & construction) contract from Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) for setting up Al-Zour Refinery Project (ZOR), Package-4, in Kuwait. This is Essar’s biggest third-party order won in the region.
 
The New Refinery Project at Al Zour is Kuwait’s biggest development project with crude processing capacity of 615,000 barrels per day (bpd). KNPC has awarded four contracts for the refinery’s construction, worth over $ 13.2 billion to successful international bidders, making it the biggest contract signing for 2015.
 
  Shiba Panda, managing director & CEO, Essar Projects, said, “The project marks Essar’s entry into the Kuwait project market with the biggest EPC contract by an external client. It also signals a quantum growth in our overseas business, showcasing our capability to collaborate with leading international EPC companies and our competitiveness in the face of tough global competition.”
 
Essar Projects has begun to mobilise resources for the project. Gianluca Mosca, COO -Overseas, Essar Projects, said, “With several large infrastructure and industrial projects being implemented in West Asia, it has become one of the fastest growing markets in the world today. Within a short span of time Essar Projects has carved a name for itself and bagged significant project wins in the region due to its inherent strengths in delivering large and complex projects.”
 
With this order, Essar Project’s order book has swelled to $ 2.8 billion, with projects being executed in nine countries. The company has experience of setting up large and complex projects in oil & gas (E&P as well as refineries), power, ports and steel. It is currently focusing on third-party orders, particularly in the Middle East, where the company sees significant opportunities.
 
The scope for the KNPC contract includes engineering, procurement, construction, pre-commissioning and assistance during commissioning, startup and performance testing, in relation to Package-4 - tank farms for the of the Al-Zour Refinery Project (ZOR). The project is expected to be completed by 2019.