CAPITAL: Kuwait City
MONETARY UNIT: Kuwaiti Dinar
REFINING CAPACITY: 886,000 b/cd
OIL PRODUCTION: 1.825 million b/d
OIL RESERVES: 94 billion bbl
GAS RESERVES: 52.4 tcf
Kuwait and Saudi Arabia planned to increase oil production in the Neutral Zone to 420,000 b/d by 2005 from a mid-1997 level of 274,000 b/d.
The increase will come from new and existing oil fields. Kuwait National Petroleum Co. and Texaco Saudi Inc., Riyadh, agreed to form a combine to drill new wells, repair oil installations, and build gathering centers in the area.
In other activity:
- Kuwait National Petroleum Corp. (KNPC) let a $130 million contract to South Korea`s Daelim Engineering to build an oil gathering complex called Center 25 in northern Kuwait.
The complex will collect and process 250,000 b/d of oil from Raudhatain field, then pump it to export and storage units at Al Ahmadi. KNPC said the project is part of a plan to hike production capacity to 3.5 million b/d by 2005 from 2.4 million b/d during 1997.
- Kuwait Oil Co. (KOC) let a contract to France`s Total SA to provide technical assistance in the management of exploration, production, transportation, and export of crude oil. Total hoped the accord paved the way for a long-term partnership between the companies.
- Kuwait completed rehabilitation of 160 damaged oil wells in Al Wafra field, with imminent production planned at a combined rate of 35,000 b/d of heavy crude.
The rehabilitation program began in 1991 following the Persian Gulf war, with priority given to wells that produce medium gravity crude.
Kuwait has more than 800 oil wells in its territory and shares 300 wells in the Neutral Zone with Saudi Arabia.
- Kuwait received a $610 million damage award to be applied to the cost of putting out oil well fires set by fleeing Iraqi soldiers during the gulf war.
The award to KOC was approved by the U.N. Compensation Commission. KOC originally sought $950 million in damages in its 1993 claim. Revenue to pay for damage claims stems from terms imposed by the U.N. in allowing limited Iraqi oil exports.
