KUWAIT: Deputy CEO for Projects at Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) Abdullah Al-Ajmi pointed out the importance of reducing costs and increasing work efficiency. He expressed intentions to help realize that after assuming his new post by achieving more integration between the three projects under him: the clean fuel project, the project circuit 1 and the project circuit 2.

He said the current structure at the projects’ sector is enough to run projects today and during the next three years, adding that 50 percent of the clean fuel project will be completed by the end of March. Ajmi said that by April 13, 24 months would have elapsed on the strategic project’s signing. “This reflects our success in going on with the plan as we prepare to go ahead with the construction stages after completing the engineering works this month,” he said.

Ajmi said purchase operations of material and equipment are going on as planned, adding that by the end of the month, two units of Italian boilers will arrive at Mina Abdullah refinery as part of a project to acquire six boilers for the refinery. He said the next major challenge is logistic.

“We suffered during the period from September to December 2015 because of the lack of contractors’ ability to bring in workers for various reasons.” He added that “concerned government departments have shown good cooperation, including the Manpower Public Authority (MPA) and the health ministry, as well as services companies in India which contributed to the facilitation of bringing laborers into Kuwait.—Al-Rai