Kuwait expansion plans in doubt; measures being taken
Kuwait announces plans to raise oil production capacity from around 2.9m barrels/day to 4m b/d by 2020
Addressing an energy conference in Kuwait in mid-October, the oil minister Ali al-Omair said that specific measures were being taken to enable output to go up, including more rigs and drilling 2,000 wells; building four gathering centres and two booster stations; and developing heavy oil. The Kuwaiti authorities have long planned to exploit the country’s heavy oil reserves – drawing on the services of experience and expertise of international oil companies. As far back as 1998, IOCs were invited to bid for contracts relating to ‘Project Kuwait’, which envisaged the expansion of output from northern and western oil fields by 0.9m b/d. The idea was that international firms would sign operating
Also in this section
16 April 2026
Demand for oil is falling because supply cannot meet it, not because it is no longer required
16 April 2026
The continent has an immediate opportunity to make the most of its energy resources by capturing gas that is currently slipping away
15 April 2026
The continent is seeing political pushback to climate plans, corporate reassessment of transition goals and rising supply risk in a fractured global order
15 April 2026
The Middle East energy crisis may turn out to be pivotal to the industry’s long-term expansion, but significant challenges still stand in its way
