Kuwait's Oil Refineries Run at 63% of Capacity After Power Cut

By Fiona MacDonald

Oct. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Kuwait's three oil refineries are running at 63 percent of capacity, three days after a power failure halted operations.

``We're now producing 587,000 barrels'' a day, compared with full capacity of 936,000 barrels a day, Kuwait National Petroleum Co. spokesman Mohammed al-Ajmi said today by telephone. ``Shuaiba is running at full capacity and Mina Abdullah is almost at full capacity. Mina Al-Ahmadi is a longer process than the other refineries.''

Most conversion units are now operating, according to al- Ajmi. ``If there is progress, we hope to reach full capacity in 36 to 38 hours,'' he said.

Kuwait, the fourth-biggest oil producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, halted refinery output just before dawn on Oct. 13 when an electricity outage caused by high humidity tripped power supply to the facilities. Exports weren't affected and there was no damage to the plants, which are located within 10 kilometers (6 miles) of each other in the south of the emirate.

The Mina Abdullah refinery has a capacity of 270,000 barrels a day, while the Mina Al-Ahmadi and Shuaiba plants have respective capacities of 466,000 and 200,000 barrels a day.

To contact the reporter on this story: Fiona MacDonald in Kuwait at FmacDonald4@bloomberg.net