Privatizing KPC sectors postponed until law approved

The privatization plan for some of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation sectors has been postponed until the National Assembly approves the Privatization Law, said Deputy Chairman and CEO Saad Al-Shuwayib on Saturday.

“We are following the directives of the Higher Petroleum Council which requested that the plan not be implemented until the parliament approves the Privatization Law,” he said in a statement to KUNA.

Al-Shuwayib explained that some sectors, such as gas stations, had been privatized but this had been halted because most of the sectors in question employed a large national workforce for which guarantees needed to be placed before moving forward.
The issue will be reviewed by the Higher Petroleum Council, which will take suitable measures after the law is approved, he said.

On the fourth refinery, the deputy chairman said Kuwait Petroleum Corporation had presented the higher council with all technical details, including the four billion dinar budget, and taking the final decision was now in the hands of the council.

He explained that previous studies that placed the refinery construction budget at a cost below four million were preliminary, stressing that the project was reevaluated and the budget was now within the correct range.

Asked about priorities, the deputy chairman, who assumed his new post last week, said, “We hope to achieve a qualitative transformation in the oil sector, and this cannot be done individually and requires the consolidation of efforts on the part of the sector’s leadership and employees.”

He noted that future projects included the development of the northern oil fields (Project Kuwait), the fourth refinery, petrochemical projects involving Kuwait Petroleum International as well as oil cooperation with China.

zawya