State-owned Kuwait Integrated Petrochemical Industries Company (KIPIC) has selected US-based Honeywell UOP to provide technology for the planned $7.8bn petrochemical facility that is due to be integrated with the $17bn Al-Zour New Refinery Project.

As part of the deal the US firm will supply technology licenses, design services, key equipment, catalysts and adsorbents, according to a statement released on the Honeywell subsidiary’s website.

“When completed, this will be the largest integrated refinery and petrochemicals plant ever constructed in Kuwait,” said John Gugel, vice president and general manager for Process Technology and Equipment at Honeywell UOP.

“In addition to aromatics and propylene, the Euro-V fuels it will produce will be the cornerstone of Kuwait’s clean fuels initiative.”

In August, MEED revealed technology providers had submitted bids to win contracts to provide proprietary technology for the petrochemicals facility.

The petrochemical project includes a 50,000 barrels a day (b/d) residue fluid catalytic cracking (RFCC) complex with ethylene and propylene recovery.

A 24,000 b/d gasoline desulphorisation unit, using Honeywell UOP proprietary technology, will also be included.

Two Honeywell UOP units will also be used to treat propane for propylene production, and isobutane to make clean-fuels blending components, including methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE).

Another unit using Honeywell UOP technology will be installed to convert butane to isobutane.

The contract includes a 66,000 b/d continuous catalyst regeneration (CCR) platforming unit with a 74,000 b/d naphtha hydrotreater to make gasoline blend stock.

It also includes an aromatics complex that will have the capacity to make to make 1.4 million metric tons of paraxylene a year.

A propane dehydrogenation unit will produce 660,000 metric tons per year of polymer-grade propylene.

Front end engineering design (feed) work for the planned petrochemicals plant is expected to be completed at the end of June 2018.

The main EPC contracts for the New Refinery Project were awarded in mid-2015 and are currently under execution. The refinery is due to be completed before the end of 2019.