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KNPC Mina Al-Ahmadi Refinery

Refinery in Kuwait. Approximate location 29.06657, 48.13481.

RefineryKuwaitCO₂ estimate (modelled)

KNPC Mina Al-Ahmadi Refinery is a refinery in Kuwait. Its listed capacity is 346,000 BBL per day. Refineries heat, fractionate and chemically transform crude oil into fuels and petrochemical feedstocks through energy-intensive distillation and cracking — extremely demanding on steam generation and heat recovery. It is operated by Kuwait National Petroleum Co. By capacity it ranks #3 among 3 oil refineries in Kuwait. It emits about 3,607,496 t CO₂e a year from Climate TRACE, roughly comparable to the annual emissions of 841k passenger cars. Its CO₂ per unit of capacity is 21% above the national median for this sector.

346,000BBL per day
3,607,496t CO₂e / yr (Climate TRACE)
#3CO₂ rank in Kuwait
10.43t CO₂ per capacity unit

Facility data: Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0), id ct-3144006.

Data status

Known source data

FacilityKNPC Mina Al-Ahmadi Refinery Climate TRACE
CountryKuwait Climate TRACE
Coordinates29.06657, 48.13481 Climate TRACE
Sector / subsectoroil-and-gas-refining Climate TRACE
Reported capacity346,000 BBL per day Climate TRACE
Owner / operatorKuwait National Petroleum Co Climate TRACE
Modelled CO₂e3,607,496 t/yr Climate TRACE

Calculated from the dataset

Kuwait rank#3 of 6 · top 50.0% calculated
Global oil-and-gas-refining rank#50 of 630 · top 7.9% calculated
Climate contextderived from coordinates calculated

Not available

Fuel typeNot available not in dataset
Thermal capacity (MW)Not available not in dataset

Source data, measured cross-checks and calculated values are kept separate. No confidence percentage is invented.

Similar facilities by modelled emissions

Same Climate TRACE subsector; closest non-placeholder modelled CO₂e values. Russia and Belarus excluded.

Operating power plants within 50 km

PowerAtlas operating assets, ordered by great-circle distance from published coordinates.

In context: how this facility compares

At 346,000 BBL per day, KNPC Mina Al-Ahmadi Refinery is below the median refinery in Kuwait (454,000 BBL per day). Subsector: oil-and-gas-refining. As refinery, it requires high process heat (typically 200–600°C) for its core industrial operations — heat that must be supplied by boilers, furnaces or direct combustion, and losses through uninsulated vessels and piping represent wasted fuel. Removable modular insulation can cut those losses by 80–96%, surface-cooling equipment to ≤45°C, with payback often under 2 years. Refineries heat, fractionate and chemically transform crude oil into fuels and petrochemical feedstocks through energy-intensive distillation and cracking — extremely demanding on steam generation and heat recovery.

Capacity & CO₂-intensity comparison computed from Climate TRACE industrial facilities data; sector role based on engineering reference.

What 3,607,496 t CO₂e a year looks like

This facility's estimated annual CO₂e (Climate TRACE, modelled) in everyday equivalents from the US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies calculator:

841kcars driven for a year
470khomes' annual energy use
60 milliontree seedlings grown 10 years

Equivalencies: US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies. Emissions: Climate TRACE.

Carbon cost, Scope 1 & decarbonization potential

At its reported 3.6M t CO₂e/yr (Scope 1), KNPC Mina Al-Ahmadi Refinery carries no domestic carbon price; refinerys are not a CBAM-covered good, so there is no border-carbon liability. At the EU ETS reference price (€75/t) the emissions carry an indicative carbon value of €272M/yr. The fastest decarbonization lever is energy efficiency: eliminating heat loss on hot equipment (removable insulation, steam & waste-heat recovery) typically cuts 2–5% of fuel-related CO₂ — here ≈72k t–180k t/yr, worth €5.4M€13.6M, with payback up to 2 years. No domestic carbon price — but cement, steel, aluminium, fertilizer and hydrogen exported to the EU face CBAM at €75/t (rising to 100% by 2034).

3.6M t CO₂e / yrScope 1 emissions
€272M/yrindicative carbon value (not a CBAM liability)
72k t–180k t/yr ≈ €5.4M€13.6MDecarbonization potential

Carbon price: EU CBAM €75/t · EU ETS €79/t, July 2, 2026, refreshed live via Carbon Hub. CO₂: Climate TRACE. Efficiency range: US DOE / ASTM C680 (method). Indicative carbon value, not the cash bill — free allocation applies; not compliance advice. Estimate the saving for this site →

Capacity vs largest oil refineries in Kuwait

KIPIC Al-Zour Refinery: 615,000 BBL per day615kKIPIC Al-Z…KNPC Mina Abdullah Refinery: 454,000 BBL per day454kKNPC Mina …KNPC Mina Al-Ahmadi Refinery: 346,000 BBL per day346kKNPC Mina …

Listed capacity (BBL per day), Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0).

Operator

Operated by Kuwait National Petroleum Co. All facilities by this operator →

Local climate

KNPC Mina Al-Ahmadi Refinery sits in a hot desert climate zone (Köppen BWh), at 29.1°N in the northern hemisphere.

~24°Ctypical annual mean
~34°Ctypical warm-season
Hot desert: hot summers and mild winters

Köppen zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid).

Site climate & environmental severity

The local climate sets how fast unprotected steel, protective coatings and the insulation on hot process equipment degrade at this site. It sits in an aggressive, high-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C5 — Very high), with marine salt corrosion the leading environmental stress.

C5ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
67/100environmental-severity index
24.2°Cseasonal temperature swing
28 kmdistance to coast
Very highCUI risk tier

In this site’s local climate, a bare 150 °C surface sheds about 1240 W/m² to ambient — roughly 0.95× the loss at a 20 °C reference; removable insulation recovers about 1178 W/m² of that. Reference-surface calculation at a 150 °C surface from WorldClim climate normals (ASTM C680 / ISO 12241) — an indicative per-climate comparison, not a measurement of this site’s specific equipment. Open method dataset: DOI 10.5281/zenodo.20787408 (CC BY 4.0).

Higher environmental severity is exactly where protective removable insulation pays back most: a sheltered micro-climate slows corrosion, UV and thermal-cycling damage and extends outdoor hardware service life. This is an indicative site-climate context — not a condition assessment of any specific plant or operator.

Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.

How it compares & nearby sites

The #3 largest of 3 oil refineries in Kuwait by listed capacity (Climate TRACE).

Nearby industrial sites

Location

Coordinates 29.06657, 48.13481. View on OpenStreetMap.

Heat loss & insulation profile

For a refinery, the main modular-insulation targets are crude & vacuum distillation columns, fired heaters, heat exchangers, steam lines, valves & flanges. Typical hot-surface ranges used for screening: 150–550 °C.

Indicative recoverable energy

A first-pass insulation screen suggests about 76,000 MWh/year of recoverable heat-loss reduction and about 15,000 t CO₂e/year of avoided emissions. Screening estimate scaled from installed process-heat projects and surface-temperature reduction data.

See Inzonex Modular Insulation → Run the calculator →

Screening calculation from facility class, capacity and open emissions/energy context. Engineering survey required before procurement.

Safety & the no-regret first step

Start with a thermal survey of valves, flanges, doors and bends. Removable modular insulation keeps maintenance access open while lowering exposed-surface temperature and wasted heat.

External climate finance your country can access

For energy-efficiency projects around process heat, likely external funding channels include:

Sources: country climate-finance facilities and public development-bank programmes.

Frequently asked questions

What type of facility is KNPC Mina Al-Ahmadi Refinery?

KNPC Mina Al-Ahmadi Refinery is a refinery in Kuwait. Refineries heat, fractionate and chemically transform crude oil into fuels and petrochemical feedstocks through energy-intensive distillation and cracking — extremely demanding on steam generation and heat recovery.

What capacity is listed for KNPC Mina Al-Ahmadi Refinery?

The open dataset lists 346,000 BBL per day of capacity for KNPC Mina Al-Ahmadi Refinery.

How much CO₂ does KNPC Mina Al-Ahmadi Refinery emit?

The page uses about 3,607,496 t CO₂e/year from the open dataset It ranks #3 among facilities in Kuwait by estimated CO₂.

Where is KNPC Mina Al-Ahmadi Refinery located?

KNPC Mina Al-Ahmadi Refinery is in Kuwait at approximately 29.06657, 48.13481.

Who operates KNPC Mina Al-Ahmadi Refinery?

The operator recorded in the open dataset is Kuwait National Petroleum Co.

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