Hani Husain leaving the helm of Kuwait’s oil ministry and his recent sweep-out of senior management at Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) and its subsidiaries – which MEES learns extended even to team leaders – has temporarily paralyzed decision-making in several arms of the state oil bureaucracy.
Mr Husain resigned on 26 May to avoid a ‘grilling’ by MPs, slated to take place two days later. This was set to focus on several recent scandals at KPC, although some appear only tangentially linked to Mr Husain (see below). His temporary replacement Finance Minister Mustafa al-Shimali, who does not have an oil background, had himself quit his previous post as finance minister last year after a marathon parliamentary ‘grilling,’ but was later reinstated. A permanent appointment is not expected till after a constitutional court rules on 16 June if the current parliament is legitimate. (CONTINUED - 579 WORDS)
