As global oil markets struggle to come to terms with collapsing demand (MEES, 10 April), with economies seizing up amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the Saudi-Kuwaiti Neutral Zone (PNZ) has provided an additional source of supply to the mix. Two million barrels of Khafji crude (28.5 API, 2.85% sulphur) are currently en-route to Asia for the first time since 2014.
Production from the PNZ is shared 50:50 by Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, but the offshore Khafji field was shut-in in October 2014 (MEES, 24 October 2014) due to grievances over shared management. Output from the onshore portion (Wafra) was then shut-in in May 2015 (MEES, 15 May 2015), with PNZ production halted entirely for more than four years. (CONTINUED - 548 WORDS)
