State-owned upstream operator Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) has completed a project to install a $70m flare gas recovery unit, known as Unit 49, at the Mina Abdullah Refinery.

The unit started full operation on 13 May, according to the Mina Abdullah Refinery’s CEO Mutlaq Al-Azmi.

The unit’s current capacity is 10 million cubic feet of gas a day (cf/d). There is the option of increasing this at a later stage to 15 million cf/d.

Completion of the project will significantly reduce emissions from the refinery.

Instead of being flared, gas will be recovered and used for heating at the refinery.

The Mina Abdullah Refinery is currently undergoing an extensive overhaul as part of Kuwait’s $16bn Clean Fuels megaproject.