Kuwait to invest nearly $114bn in new oil projects

National oil company Kuwait Petroleum has reportedly revealed plans to invest K.D34.5bn ($113.7bn) in new oil projects over the next five years.

Kuwait Petroleum head of planning Wafa Al Zaabi was quoted by media sources as saying: "More than K.D30bn ($98bn) will be spent on the local market and the rest abroad."

Al Zaabi said that more than two-thirds of K.D23bn ($75bn) investment will be spent on exploration, as well as production.

Kuwait aims to increase its production capacity to four million bpd by 2020 and has plans to build four gathering centres as part of the new projects.

 

A key project will also be in place to maximise heavy oil production and increase free natural gas production to more than two billion cubic feet per day from the existing 150 million cubic feet.

Kuwait is also in the process of implementing three $30bn downstream ventures, which include a new refinery with a capacity of 615,000bpd and a clean fuel project, The National reported.

State news agency Kuna reported that national oil refining company Kuwait National Petroleum (KNPC) is currently holding discussions with global institutions to secure $6.4bn in the second tranche of loans to finance its clean fuels project.

Credit agencies from Europe, South Korea and Japan International are set to provide funding for the second tranche.