On December 3, with the successful startup of the last refining plant, the largest oil refinery in the Middle East with the Company participating in its construction — the 31.5 MTA Azul Refinery in Kuwait was put into full operation, increasing the refining capacity of Kuwait from 410,000 b/d to 615,000 b/d.

This refinery is a key project in the connection of China's Belt and Road initiative with Kuwait's National Vision 2035, and is also the world largest refinery completed at one time. After the project construction was started in October 2015, the Company, as the main EPC contractor, completed the engineering design of 5 plants including diesel hydrogenation and kerosene hydrogenation with advanced means such as SP3D three-dimensional modeling and virtual design, and formed a consortium with TR of Spain and Hanhua Engineering Company of Korea to participate in the procurement and construction EPC works for the 15 main plants in the scope of contract, and was the first among all contractors to complete all works in December 2019.

In November 2022, the project started commercial operation after the first completed plants were put into operation, and began to supply a wide range of products to the global market, including kerosene, high-quality jet fuel and low-sulfur fuel.

The completion and operation of the project has not only increased the oil refining capacity of Kuwait, to supply the local area with ultra-low sulfur clean fuel in line with Euro 5 standards, greatly reduce vehicle pollutant emissions, improve air quality, and make Kuwait the largest producer of clean oil products in the Middle East, but also marked a major breakthrough of Chinese enterprises in the local refining and chemical market, making the project a model of cooperation between the two countries in the Belt and Road construction.