Van Oord, a Dutch contracting company that specialises in dredging and land reclamation, said it has successfully executed the impressive ground improvement project for Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC).

The project, which started in 2014, involved the reclamation of 65 million cu m of sand and extensive soil improvement.

The reclamation area of 1,320 hectares is intended for one of the largest oil refining plants in the Middle East, said the company in a statement.

Upon completion, the Al Zour Refinery will produce 615,000 barrels per day and has a strategic goal of supplying low-sulphur fuel.

The refinery will be constructed on the reclaimed land in a ‘sabkha area’, a salt plain near the coast, 30 km north of the Saudi border. The reclamation project, executed by Van Oord, was the first phase of KNPC’s investment programme for this new refinery, it stated.

This project comprises land reclamation for the construction of a port and the first phase of a LNG import facility, it added.-TradeArabia News Service