Kuwait to sign final refinery contracts in 2 months

KUWAIT, May 13 (Reuters) - Kuwait expects to sign the final contracts to build its Al-Zour refinery within two months after awarding deals worth $8.4 billion, the state news agency on Tuesday quoted an oil official as saying.

"Contracts will be signed within two months," Assad al-Saad, Deputy Chairman of state refiner Kuwait National Petroleum Co (KNPC) told KUNA.

KNPC on Sunday awarded deals to build its new 615,000 barrels per day (bpd) refinery to four South Korean firms and one Japanese in the Middle East's biggest refinery project.

A package worth $4 billion to build crude distillation units went to a combination of Japan's JGC Corp (1963.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), and South Korea's GS Engineering and Construction Corp (006360.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

A $2 billion contract went to South Korea's SK Energy 096770.SK to build a hydrogen production unit, while Daelim Industrial (000210.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) won a $1.2 billion contract to set up storage tanks.

Hyundai Engineering & Construction (000720.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) won a $1.1 billion deal for marine export facilities, while another project was won by U.S. engineering firm Fluor Corp (FLR.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), KNPC said, without giving its value.

KNPC said its budget for the refinery remained unchanged at 4 billion dinars ($15 billion) and it would contract more work, including a $2 billion engineering, procurement and construction contract managed by Fluor Corp (FLR.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

The world's seventh-largest oil exporter plans to boost refining capacity to 1.415 million bpd from 930,000 bpd with the new plant, and upgrade its Mina Abdullah and Mina Ahmadi refineries.

The al-Zour project is to replace its aging 200,000 bpd Shuaiba refinery, which has been hit by several accidents.

Al-Zour would start operating in 2012, two years later than initially planned, KNPC said on Sunday.