Kuwait has decided to permanently shut its heavy oil cracking unit at its Shuaiba refinery that has been shut since a fire at the unit in August, a spokesman for the state refiner said on Wednesday. The closure of the unit has reduced diesel sales of Kuwait National Petroleum Company by around 50,000 barrels per day, KNPC spokesman Khalid Al-Asousi said, Trade Arabia reported. That would mean more crude sales by parent company Kuwait Petroleum Corp., he said. "The H-Oil startup will not be economical as it will take time and Shuaiba refinery will be closed by April 2017," Al-Asousi said. Shuaiba is Kuwait's smallest refinery with a capacity of 200,000 bpd, which has been running at less than full capacity since the fire. According to reports, OPEC member Kuwait's oil production in December was 2.930 million bpd. The Persian Gulf Arab producer is planning to raise crude output to 3.6 million bpd by 2020.
