The US’ Fluor Corporation has completed the construction of a new $3bn dollar petrochemicals complex at Shuaiba in Kuwait, the company said in a 27 August statement.

Fluor was the front end engineering and design (FEED) and project management consultant during the construction phase of the Olefins II complex, working for a joint venture of the US’ Dow Chemical and Kuwait’s Petrochemical Industries Company, Bubyan Petrochemical, and Qurain Petrochemical Industries.

The complex has a production capacity of 850,000 tonnes a year (t/y) of ethylene, 450,000 t/y of polyethylene, and 600,000 tonnes of ethylene glycol and ethylene oxide.

As part of Fluor’s contract, the company also oversaw an 250,000 t/y capacity increase at the related Olefins I complex, also at Shuaiba.
Kuwait wants to diversify its economy, which is heavily reliant on the energy sector. Petrochemicals production is key to the emirate’s plans, but another planned joint venture between PIC and Dow, the $17bn K-Dow project, was cancelled in December 2008 after sustained political pressure.