Kuwait is finally set to begin its long-delayed offshore exploration program, with the Oriental Phoenix drillship moored around 100km east of Kuwait City . Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) CEO Sheikh Nawaf Saud Al Sabah told the Qatar Economic Forum on 21 June that “we’ve now taken the first step into exploration offshore. We’ve never touched the offshore in Kuwait, but now the first offshore drill rig arrived in Kuwait a week ago and will spud soon.”
Outside of the Partitioned Neutral Zone (PNZ) shared with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait has conducted no offshore drilling activity. Kuwait identified drilling targets back in 2015 after studying seismic and planned to drill in 2016, but six years later the waiting goes on (MEES, 15 April 2016). (CONTINUED - 321 WORDS)
