State-owned Kuwait Oil Co has started operations at its new GC-31 gathering centre, which can handle up to 100,000 bpd of crude oil along with 62.5 Mcfd of associated gas and 240,000 bpd of treated water. The facility, which was built by London-based Petrofac, is the last of three identical units in a contract worth $2.3 billion. The GC-29 and GC-30 were completed by their respective contractors, Dodsal and Larsen & Toubro. Meanwhile, Petrofac was also awarded a contract to build the GC-32 in a separate contract.
The gathering facilities will act as a connecting point for oil produced at various wells and provide initial treatment, including separating associated gas, salt, and water. They are part of KOC’s plan to develop and integrate production from Kuwait’s northern oil fields. In 2018, Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC), KOC’s parent company, said it planned to expand production capacity to 4.75 million bpd by 2040. Kuwait’s current production capacity stands at about 3 million bpd.
