Kuwaiti oil plan stirs nationalist fervor

Declining reserves are forcing the country that nationalized oil 34 years ago to weigh foreign help.

KUWAIT CITY

Now with some of the country’s most precious oil fields quickly becoming exhausted, Kuwait is considering throwing open the doors and handing over power – albeit limited – to foreign oil companies that have the technical know-how to help stretch what remains and develop what’s yet to be discovered.

Project Kuwait, a controversial $8.5 billion plan before the country’s parliament, would allow – for the first time in 34 years – international oil companies (IOCs) power over Kuwait’s oil production levels, which are currently about 2.4 million barrels per day. It would also give the oil giants much greater influence over global oil supplies and pricing once they regained a foothold in this country, believed to have about 10 percent of the world’s oil reserves.

But while global energy executives may be eager to begin drilling under the Kuwaiti desert, many here don’t want to relinquish any national control of the lucrative oil fields even if it means potentially losing billions of dollars.

Christian Science Monitor