Chinese Oil Giant turns refinery project into hospital

Domestic energy giant China Petrochemical Corp (Sinopec) is helping Kuwait transform a local oil refinery project into a makeshift hospital to aid the country in its fight against an outbreak of COVID-19, as the number of confirmed cases rises and Kuwait moves to repatriate its citizens from abroad.

A subsidiary of Sinopec, Sinopec Fifth Construction Co, is helping transform a camp of the Al-Zour New Refinery Project (NRP) into a makeshift hospital to accommodate the increasing number of confirmed COVID-19 cases.

The site for Sinopec’s hospital spans about 170,000 square meters in the desert in Al Zour in southern Kuwait and has 1,066 staff dormitories as well as a canteen, medical room and bathrooms. It was originally set up for employees to build the Al Zour Refinery in the Middle East, though workers left the camp after finishing work in October.

“The Kuwaiti government chose our camp because it is in the desert, a good place for isolation. With its existing facilities, it can be converted into a makeshift hospital with little modification,” a Sinopec Fifth Construction employee said.

Last month, Sinopec launched two production lines for N95 respirators and surgical masks in response to a shortage created by the coronavirus pandemic