Honeywell and Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Company (KIPIC) have extended their strategic collaboration, signing a five-year, multi-million dollar contract for services to protect, maintain and optimize operations at the Al Zour refinery and liquefied natural gas import (LNGI) terminal in southern Kuwait.
The contract will see the deployment of Honeywell Forge, an advanced Enterprise Performance Management software platform with robust cybersecurity capabilities that simplify, strengthen and scale industrial cybersecurity operations. The implementation will bolster network and endpoint security at KIPIC’s new 615,000 barrel per day crude refining plant and three trillion British thermal unit per day LNG import facility. Honeywell Assurance 360, an outcome-based, performance-focused service management program, will also be implemented at the sites.
“Ensuring the highest levels of cybersecurity and operational excellence remains a top priority for KIPIC,” said Hatem Al-Awadi, acting chief executive officer, KIPIC. “We are building one of the largest integrated refining facilities in the world and selected Honeywell in view of their world-class cybersecurity credentials and expertise in implementing robust lifecycle management plans for critical infrastructure in the energy sector.”
To better secure critical operational technology (OT) assets and operations from evolving cybersecurity threats, KIPIC will use Honeywell Forge Cybersecurity Software to safeguard cybersecurity performance and increase the visibility of vulnerabilities, mitigate risks, and improve cybersecurity compliance and management efficiency. This will include the creation of cybersecurity policies and procedures, audits and assessments of enterprise processes and assets, and training programs to help ensure 360-degree cybersecurity protection.
Under the terms of the Assurance 360 service agreement, Honeywell will work with KIPIC to maintain, support and optimize the performance of its facilities while maximizing uptime and reducing operating costs. The multi-year strategic agreement will help ensure automation assets are kept secure and reliable, while providing KIPIC with predictive maintenance and performance insights designed to help meet and exceed production goals and manage total cost of ownership.
“Honeywell has been supplying technologies to support the global oil and gas industry for over 100 years, and we are committed to helping our customers maintain leadership positions in the field through world-class digital technologies and software solutions,” said Que Dallara, president and CEO, Honeywell Connected Enterprise. “We are immensely proud of our long-standing relationship with KIPIC and will work closely with them to reduce unplanned maintenance while increasing the reliability, uptime and safety of their operations.”
In 2019, KIPIC selected Honeywell to be the main automation contractor for its Petrochemicals and Refinery Integration Al Zour Project (PRIZe). Under the agreement, Honeywell Process Solutions (HPS) is providing KIPIC with front-end engineering design and advanced process control technology for the complex, which will help KIPIC expedite production start-up and assist in reaching production targets faster and more efficiently. Also last year, KIPIC selected Honeywell UOP for the reconfiguration of refining and petrochemicals sections of PRIZe to increase the plant’s output capacity of fuels and petrochemicals.
Honeywell has been in Kuwait for more than 50 years, and supports the country’s energy industry with cutting-edge technologies, efficient business solutions and local training initiatives. The company is the first to build “Made in Kuwait” solutions to power digital transformation across the country’s growing oil, gas and petrochemical sectors.