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Kuwait will make its first shipment of the delayed Super Light crude grade by the end of June. as it completes segregation facilities for the exports. oil minister Bakheet al-Rashidi said Wednesday.
The new grade. with a gravity of 48 API and 0.4% sulfur content. was originally planned for late last year. and then pushed back to April. as Kuwait prepared the segregation facilities to maintain quality.
Kuwait currently ships around 2 million b d of its single export grade which has a gravity of 31 API. Most of its exports sail to Asia. with around 8% to the US and 7% to Europe.
The new light grade comes mainly from the long-delayed development of the Jurassic gas fields. Kuwait Oil Co. is producing 120.000 b d to 150.000 b d of light crude and is preparing separation facilities for export. Rashidi told state-run Kuna news agency.
Production is expected to increase to 190.000 b d in July. he added.
Two crude processing facilities were started up in January at the Umm Niqa and Sabriya fields. each producing up to 40.000 b d of light crude and 100 MMcf d of gas. A third facility at the West al-Rawdatain will add another 40.000 b d. taking total light oil production capacity to 120.000 b d.
It was not clear where the additional 70.000 b d Rashidi referred to would come from.
Kuwait is also planning a new heavy crude grade later this year. with a gravity of 16 API and 4.9% sulfur content.
Production started last year at a 15.000 b d heavy oil processing plant at Umm Niqa field. Another 60.000 b d of heavy oil from Umm Niqa. Ratqa and Sabriya fields in the north of Kuwait will be processed at a new central processing facility being built by UK-based Petrofac.
The facility is due for completion in mid-2019. after which the processing capacity will be built up with new modular units adding 60.000 b d in phases to take production as high as 400.000 b d.
