Military

Mina Al Ahmadi, Kuwait

Mina Al-Ahmadi, which is principally an oil port, is the site of the US Navy ships' bunker program which provides commercial ship propulsion fuels for military & other US Government vessels. Mina al Ahmadi, just north of Ash Shuaiba, handles most of Kuwait's petroleum exports. Twelve offshore berths can load more than 2 million bpd of oil and can accommodate the largest oil tankers. Four facilities are at Mina al-Ahmadi. The south pier has eight berths varying in depth from 12 to 15 meters. The north pier has four berths with a depth of about 18 meters and could handle tankers with a cargo of up to 100,000 tons. The artificial sea-island, which could handle 375,000 ton tankers and consisted of a loading platform with six docking platforms in almost 30 meters of water. The single point mooring, which was controlled and connected by marine pipelines to the artificial sea-island. Cargo loaded includes LPG Butane and Propane, at berth no. 1 and 10, also Jet and Naphta at berth no. 3, HSD, SKO, at berth no. 4 Naphta, Jet and HSD. Bunkers (FO and MGO) supplied at all berths.

Mina Abd Allah [Mina Abdulla] -- Sea Island -- has an artificial sea-island in 13 to 17 meters of water and had an off-load capacity of 214,000 tons. Berth no. 18 can accomodate up to DWT 140,000, while Berth no. 19 can accomodate up to DWT 276,000. Cargo loaded includes Naphta, HSD, Jet, SKO and Bunkers.

Mina Al Zour (Mina Saud) is an oil terminal, loading crude from the southern oil fields. Berth no. CBM2: Accepting vessels up to approximately DWT 140,000 for loading full cargo and up to approximately DWT 370,000 for loading part cargo (Ratawi and Eocene crude oil). Maximum draught allowed is normally 15.85 m (52 feet). The maximum size of vessels using the berth is governed by the physical limits of stern to manifold distance (max. 600 feet) and draught.

The principal port for nonpetroleum products is Ash Shuwaykh, several kilometers west of the downtown section of the city of Kuwait. Built in 1960, Ash Shuwaykh is one of the busiest ports in the Middle East, with twenty-one deepwater berths. In 1988 more than 1,100 vessels carried 3.7 million tons of cargo through Ash Shuwaykh. Shuwaikh Port is the main commercial port in Kuwait, with 21 berths and a total pier length of 1,190 meters. Maximum permissible draught 9.6 meters at high tide and 7.6 meters at low tide. The Shuwaikh container, ro-ro and slipway port is the regular port of entry for most consumer goods entering the country by container ship.

Kuwait is working to regain its role as a transshipment point in the region following the significant drop in world trade with Iraq after the Gulf War. In 1996, the government authorized the establishment of a free trade zone in Shuwaikh port, which was inaugurated in November 1999. Over 80 percent of available space has been leased. Recently the GOK also reduced some port fees in an effort to encourage use of Kuwait as a transshipment point. Kuwait's road system is well developed, with modern multi-lane expressways linking all areas of the country. There are no railways in the country.

The Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC), a subsidiary of KPC, operates the refineries and associated export facilities. There are three refineries in Kuwait operated by KNPC: Mina al-Ahmadi, Mina Shuaiba and Mina Abd Allah [Mina Abdulla]. Kuwait has a well-developed infrastructure for exporting crude oil, refined products, and LPG.