Kuwait inked a USD2.93 billion contract with three South Korean firms for the construction of the largest Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) import facility in the country. The project, to be built at the Al-Zour refinery near the border with Saudi Arabia, was awarded to Hyundai Engineering Co, Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co and Korea Gas Corporation. CEO of national refiner Kuwait National Petroleum Company Mohammad Al-Mutairi, who signed the contract, said the project is expected to be completed in 1Q2021. The facility will be part of a huge complex being built in Al-Zour, south of Kuwait City, which will also house a state-of-the-art 615,000 barrel-per-day refinery and a petrochemicals plant. Mutairi said the cost of the complex is expected to reach USD30 billion. In October 2015, Kuwait awarded contracts worth USD13.2 billion to ten international firms to build the refinery, which is set to come on stream in late 2019. Besides, BP and Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) have signed a framework agreement to explore possible joint opportunities for investment and cooperation in future oil, gas, trading and petrochemicals ventures. (Kuwait Times)