Faced with consecutive years of falling crude oil production capacity, Kuwaiti officials have in recent weeks pledged to boost capacity up to 3.5mn b/d by 2025, with KOC’s capacity accounting for 3.2mn b/d of this. MEES estimates that Kuwait’s current output capacity is just 2.88mn b/d including a 250,000 b/d share of Neutral Zone capacity (MEES, 22 October); the IEA pegs it lower still at 2.84mn b/d, although it forecasts an increase to 2.90mn b/d in 2022.
Hashem Hashem, CEO of Kuwait Petroleum says that 500,000 b/d of “potential capacity” is ready to be unlocked through capital projects, drilling and workover projects over the next two years. However, the IEA’s latest Oil Market Report pours cold water on Kuwait’s prospects of achieving its ambitions. “In our view, the capacity targets are likely to prove optimistic. Reviving and developing Kuwait’s ageing and complex oil fields (as well as those of the Neutral Zone) will require substantial investments to underpin the drilling effort along with more expensive Enhanced Oil Recovery technology,” the IEA says. (CONTINUED - 179 WORDS)
