According to reports, the Ministry of Oil has announced that Kuwait’s oil reserves have increased from 101.5 billion to 104.7 billion barrels following the discovery of the Noukhatha offshore field, east of Failaka Island. The new field is estimated to hold approximately 3.2 billion barrels of oil.
Additionally, the Al-Durra field, which is shared between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, has initial estimated reserves of about 300 million barrels. This brings Kuwait’s total confirmed reserves to approximately 105 billion barrels. The Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) is committed to maintaining the efficiency of the Burgan field, which has a production capacity of 1.5 million barrels per day. Efforts are focused on preventing production declines and continuously improving the field’s output.
The Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) aims to boost the country’s production capacity to over 3 million barrels per day by 2025. This goal is considered achievable through intensified production efforts, ongoing field exploration, and leveraging national expertise. Kuwait’s plan to increase production is being coordinated with OPEC to align with the global oil market’s needs while remaining committed to adjusting its production share to help balance global oil prices.
The country’s potential for increased production positions it to possibly expand its share in OPEC+, similar to the recent increase by the UAE, which raised its share by 300,000 barrels per day as its production is set to grow from 3.2 million barrels per day to 3.5 million barrels early next year. Before these discoveries, Kuwait’s reserves stood at approximately 101.5 billion barrels. Despite facing challenges, KPC is dedicated to gradually increasing its oil reserves by providing resources for its affiliated oil companies to discover new wells.
KOC has also recently refuted social media claims that it withdrew two major exploration and production tenders, each valued at approximately $1.2 billion, due to procedural errors. In a statement released yesterday, KOC clarified that the tenders were not withdrawn. Instead, the company explained that there was a procedural issue with how the tenders were initially offered. They were submitted as actual offerings rather than pre-offerings, which is the required procedure. As a result, the Central Agency for Public Tenders is currently revising the offering process to ensure compliance with legal standards.
Kuwait, which relies heavily on the sale of hydrocarbons to fuel its economy, has benefited from a rise in oil prices this year. However, the government still needs to control spending to reduce its budget deficit. Kuwait’s budget is projected to show a deficit of 5.6 billion dinars ($18.33 billion) for the 2024-2025 fiscal year, with expenses estimated at 24.5 billion dinars and revenue at 18.9 billion dinars.
