More delays are expected for the Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) project to develop a fuel depot in Kuwait’s Al Mutlaa region.It is now expected that bids for the project's main contract will not be submitted until a study has been completed evaluating technical and financial aspects of the project.The contract for the study is in the tendering phases, with bids due to be submitted ahead of a deadline of 13 June.The bid deadline for the separate engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the project has a bid deadline of 30 June.The bid deadline of 30 June seems unrealistic as it is very likely that KNPC will want to change the scope of the project in line with the results from the combined financial and technical study.“In light of this, contractors are expending significant further delays to the bid submission deadline on this project.”The scheme is known as the Al Mutlaa new fuel depot project and its scope is expected to include:Development of new pumping facilities at the Mina Al Ahmadi and Shuaiba refineriesLaying of cross-country pipelines from the Mina Al Ahmadi and Shuaiba refineriesConstruction of a local market depotInstallation of safety systemsInstallation of fire-fighting systemsConstruction of storage tanksInternal debates are still ongoing over the types of fuel that will be transported to the depot.The facility will store fuels for distribution within Kuwait.Some officials want fuel that does not meet European import standards to make up a high volume of the fuel that is transported to the facility, so that more export-quality fuel is available to be sold to foreign markets.Other officials want the European-standard fuel to be used more widely in Kuwait due to its lower environmental impact. (ICE KUWAIT)

Fonte notizia: Meed