Al Zour LNG Terminal
| Part of the Global Gas Infrastructure Tracker, a Global Energy Monitor project. |
Al Zour LNG Terminal is an operating LNG import terminal in Kuwait.
Location
Table 1: Location details
| Name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Al Zour LNG Terminal | Al-Zour, Kuwait[1] | 28.7183683, 48.3973631 (exact) |
The map below shows the exact location of the terminal:
Project Details
Table 2: Infrastructure details
| Name | Facility type | Status | Capacity | Total terminal capacity | Offshore | Associated infrastructure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al Zour LNG Terminal | import[2] | operating[3] | 22 mtpa | 22.0 mtpa | False | – |
Table 3: Cost
| Name | Facility type | Cost | Total known terminal costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Al Zour LNG Terminal | import[2] | US$3,000,000,000 | US$3,000,000,000 |
Financing
No financing data available.
Table 4: Project timeline
| Name | Facility type | Status | Proposal year | FID year | Construction year | Operating year | Inactive year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al Zour LNG Terminal | import[2] | operating[3] | 2014[4] | – | 2016[2] | 2022[3] | – |
Ownership
Table 5: Ownership
| Name | Facility type | Status | Owners | Parent companies | Operator |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al Zour LNG Terminal | import[2] | operating[3] | Kuwait National Petroleum Co [100%][5] | Kuwait National Petroleum Co [100.0%] | – |
Background
Al-Zour LNG terminal is located in the Al-Zour region, approximately 90km south of the Kuwait’s capital, Kuwait City, near the border with Saudi Arabia.[6] The conceptual and feasibility studies for the terminal were undertaken in 2014. The project includes a re-gasification facility, eight LNG storage tanks with a capacity of 225,000m³ each, marine facilities including two marine jetties, and berthing facilities for loading.[6] The project also includes other components such as 14 HP pumps, boil-off gas (BOG) and flare facilities.[6] The facility is built to produce approximately 22 million metric tonnes (MMT) of natural gas a year and has a storage capacity of 1.8 million m³ of LNG.[6] The terminal has a liquefaction capacity of 30 billion m3 per day.[7]
The Hyundai Engineering Company (HEC) was contracted for the construction of Al-Zour LNG project.[8] It also included Hyundai E&C, and state-owned Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS).[7] Construction of the import terminal began in 2016.[8] In January 2020 the governments of Kuwait and Qatar signed a new contract which called for the import project to begin operations in 2022.[9] In September 2020, Bloomberg reported that Kuwait is was aiming to open the import terminal by March 2021.[10]
The import terminal was completed in November 2021 and its first phase reached full operations in February 2022, with four 225,000 m3 storage tanks and 11 mtpa of regasification capacity.[11][12][13] The second phase, which was completed in 2022, included 4 additional tanks of the same size.[13] The Al-Zour LNG import terminal is the largest LNG import terminal in the Middle East.[14]
The Al-Zour terminal received its 300th cargo of LNG in November 2024.[15]
Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Company (KIPIC), the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) subsidiary that developed and had operated the Al-Zour LNG import terminal since it entered service in 2022, was formally dissolved and merged into Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) following a Supreme Petroleum Council decision reported by regional press in mid-2026 (Kuwait Times, AGBI, Zawya, Times Kuwait, all April-July 2026). As a result, KNPC is now the correct current owner/parent entity for the Al-Zour LNG complex including the import terminal, consistent with GEM's existing Owner value 'Kuwait National Petroleum Co [100%]'. Day-to-day operation and maintenance of the LNG import terminal itself has been contracted since Dec 2020 to DESFA (Greece's gas transmission system operator), part of a Snam/Enagas-led O&M consortium; DESFA's first O&M year began 1 May 2022 and DESFA was still confirmed active as the terminal's O&M contractor as of a Feb 2025 Times Kuwait report.[16][17][18]
Articles and Resources
Additional data
To access additional data, including an interactive map of LNG terminals, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Gas Infrastructure Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
References
- ↑ https://www.google.com/maps/place/KIPIC+LNG+Operations+Admin+Building/@28.7193562,48.3844348,2007m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x3fce95777f6f815f:0xd6d91da06c6c9bf2!8m2!3d28.7203717!4d48.3912965!16s%2Fg%2F11lfqk882n?entry=tts&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MDYxMC4wKgBIAVAD.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 https://www.hydrocarbons-technology.com/projects/al-zour-lng-import-terminal-project/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 https://www.mees.com/2022/2/25/news-in-brief/kuwaits-al-zour-lng-full-operations/43656080-964e-11ec-be2a-f105a3a62fe1.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://www.dextragroup.com/es/al-zour-lng-import-terminal/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ (PDF) https://giignl.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/GIIGNL_2023_Annual_Report_July14.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Gwi, Sir (2022-11-04). "Al-Zour LNG Import Terminal". Dextra Group | Reliable Connections (in español). Retrieved 2024-06-12.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Al-Zour LNG Import Terminal Project Hydrocarbons Technology, accessed July 19, 2019
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Al-Zour LNG Import Terminal Project, Al-Zour, Kuwait". www.hydrocarbons-technology.com. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
- ↑ Qatar and Kuwait agree new contract to supply the Al-Zour LNG project
- ↑ Verity Ratcliffe, Fiona MacDonald "Kuwait Aims to Finish Mideast’s Biggest LNG Terminal by March", Bloomberg, Sep. 15, 2020
- ↑ McKay, John. "South Koreans formally complete largest LNG import terminal in Middle East at Al-Zour petroleum complex". lngjournal.com. Retrieved 2022-05-26.
- ↑ "Kuwait's Al Zour LNG: Full Operations". MEES. Retrieved 2022-05-26.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 GIIGNL. The LNG Industry: GIIGNL Annual Report 2022. Accessed July 21, 2026.
- ↑ Bloomberg (2021-07-14). "Kuwait opens first permanent LNG facility as it looks to boost gas imports". Retrieved 2024-06-12.
- ↑ Staff, LNG Prime (2024-11-21). "Kuwait's Al-Zour terminal gets milestone LNG cargo". LNG Prime. Retrieved 2025-07-10.
- ↑ https://kuwaittimes.com/article/44301/kuwait/other-news/spc-dissolves-kipic-merges-it-into-knpc/
- ↑ https://www.mees.com/2025/4/25/news-in-brief/kuwait-downstream-merger/3803c870-21cd-11f0-bab7-53839382b88d
- ↑ https://timeskuwait.com/desfa-unveils-energy-innovations-and-partnerships-at-its-first-kuwait-event/
