Big shake-up in Kuwaiti oil sector ‎

…Sheikh Ali also confirmed to Al-Wasat newspaper that the state’s proven oil reserves have fallen to 48 billion barrels, as reported last year by Petroleum Intelligence Weekly, down from an announced 100 billion barrels. However, he said Kuwait has additional probable reserves of around 150 billion barrels, especially after recent discoveries. Last month, Kuwait announced a significant oil and gas discovery in the northern Dhabi area, without giving details of quantities. The state also announced a huge free gas discovery in 2006.

The minister said the discoveries would speed up Kuwait’s plans to raise production capacity to four million barrels per day (bpd) as the target is expected to be achieved by 2012 instead of the planned 2020. OPEC member Kuwait currently pumps around 2.4 bpd. Kuwait controls nearly one-tenth of global oil reserves. It is the world’s seventh-largest oil exporter.


Sheikh Ali also told Al-Wasat that Kuwait is in the final stages of drawing up its controversial multi-billion project to develop oilfields in the north of the country. The long-planned scheme called Project Kuwait to develop four oilfields with the help of multinational oil companies has met opposition from some parliamentarians. Two years ago, Kuwait estimated the cost of the project at $8.5 billion. The minister has asked investment banks Morgan Stanley and Lazard to review the project, with a view to submitting a revised plan to parliament again sometime this year.

“We are in the finishing stages,” Sheikh Ali told the newspaper. A month ago he said Kuwait would unveil plans for the project within two months. He said the state needed the help of international companies because drilling in the northern fields would be difficult. “If it is not difficult we would not bring them in … we would not need them in the first place,” he said. Sheikh Ali said all big international companies were still interested in providing technical assistance despite the long decision-making process.

Kuwait Times